French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron have initiated legal proceedings against American conservative commentator Candace Owens. The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in a Delaware court, where the Macrons are challenging Owens over her dissemination of unsubstantiated claims that Brigitte Macron was born male. The 218-page complaint details how Owens has capitalized on these allegations for personal gain.
The controversy began when Owens made repeated public statements, including on her social media platforms and podcast interviews, insisting that Brigitte Macron was actually Jean-Michel Trogneux, the President’s purported brother, who underwent gender reassignment. Owens went as far as to stake her "entire professional reputation" on these claims. Despite receiving multiple cease-and-desist letters and being informed that the information was false, Owens persisted in her assertions.
The Macrons, through their legal counsel, Thomas Clare of the defamation-focused firm Clare Locke LLP, have expressed their commitment to attending the trial in person in Delaware to seek punitive damages. Clare emphasized the importance the Macrons place on defending their reputations, highlighting Owens' refusal to retract her statements and her mockery of the couple in response to legal warnings.
This legal action is notable as it involves foreign heads of state pursuing a defamation case on American soil, where the bar for proving libel is set high for public figures. The Macrons must demonstrate that Owens acted with "actual malice," which entails knowingly propagating falsehoods or exhibiting a reckless disregard for the truth.
The lawsuit addresses not only the false allegations about Brigitte Macron's gender but also conspiracy theories Owens has spread about President Macron. These include claims that he was a subject of the CIA's MKUltra mind control program and that his relationship with Brigitte, who was his high school teacher, began inappropriately when he was a minor.
The Macrons have refuted these allegations, clarifying that their relationship began with an intellectual connection and remained lawful, turning romantic only years after their first meeting. Despite direct communication from the Macrons to Owens in December 2023, denying any statutory rape and affirming Brigitte Macron's gender, Owens continued to promote her claims, leading to the current legal battle.
This is not the first time the Macrons have resorted to legal action to protect their reputations. In 2022, Brigitte Macron successfully filed a defamation complaint in France against individuals who propagated similar gender identity rumors, resulting in a guilty verdict and fines.
The rumors initially emerged during Macron's 2017 presidential campaign and have been amplified on social media in recent years. President Macron has publicly denounced these rumors as "sexist" attacks on a "powerful woman."
The case has attracted significant media attention, with some commentators suggesting that the lawsuit may be a "spectacular PR blunder" by the Macrons. Nevertheless, the couple's determination to confront these allegations in court underscores their stance against defamation and misinformation.
