French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have initiated a defamation lawsuit against American right-wing influencer Candace Owens following her dissemination of false claims regarding the identity of the French First Lady.
Owens alleged on the platform “X” and in podcast episodes she released in March 2024 that Brigitte Macron was born male, a claim she later reiterated despite an official request for its removal.
The lawsuit, which Owens herself confirmed receiving via a video posted on her YouTube channel, accuses her of using these allegations to promote her platform for personal and financial gain. Documents indicate that Owens mocked the Macron couple and continued to exploit the situation to amplify engagement with her digital content.
The influencer, known for her affiliation with far-right circles, aired an eight-episode podcast series titled “Becoming Brigitte,” which included what the lawsuit termed “verifiable lies,” such as the claim of a familial connection between the Macrons and that Emmanuel Macron’s rise to presidency was supported by the American intelligence agency.
Macron’s legal team contends that the couple has become the target of an ongoing, unwarranted campaign of “humiliation and character assassination,” especially as millions of users consume Owens’ content on YouTube and “X,” increasing the potential impact of these allegations.
The case reignites the debate over the limits of free speech on digital platforms and the responsibility influencers hold for the content they publish to a wide-reaching audience.
