French President Emmanuel Macron has filed a defamation lawsuit against conservative commentator Candace Owens, accusing her of spreading false and damaging conspiracy theories about his wife, Brigitte Macron.
The lawsuit, submitted on Wednesday to the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, targets Owens for repeatedly claiming that France's first lady is a man, according to Mediaite. The filing calls her accusations "devastating lies" and alleges she knowingly platformed "known conspiracy theorists and proven defamers" despite having access to credible evidence disproving the claims.
In 2024, while still working for the Daily Wire, Owens publicly declared she would stake her "entire professional reputation" on Brigitte Macron being transgender. She has since doubled down, launching an eight-part podcast series titled "Becoming Brigitte," which promoted a range of baseless narratives, including allegations that Mrs. Macron stole someone's identity, that the couple are secretly related, and that Emmanuel Macron was selected for the presidency through a CIA mind-control program.
"These claims are demonstrably false, and Owens knew they were," the lawsuit states.
Filed through the law firm Clare Locke, the suit says Owens' content is built not on journalism but provocation, listing her history of promoting falsehoods ranging from Holocaust denial to anti-vaccine misinformation. The Macrons are requesting a jury trial and seeking damages.
Meanwhile, Owens, through a spokesperson, said she would address the legal filing on her podcast. "Candace will be officially responding to this on her podcast today, as we are just learning about this in the press," the spokesperson told the outlet.
Originally published on Latin Times
