The French leader has filed a defamation suit against US right-wing commentator Candace Owens for alleging Brigitte Macron was born male
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, intend to provide a US court with photographic and scientific evidence that they claim will prove that the first lady is a woman, the couple’s lawyer has told the BBC. The materials will be submitted as part of a defamation lawsuit filed by the Macrons against US right-wing commentator Candace Owens, who has claimed that Brigitte Macron was born a man.
Tom Clare, who represents the Macrons in the case, told the BBC’s Fame Under Fire podcast on Thursday that they wish to disprove the allegations “both generically and specifically.” Owens’ claims regarding Brigitte Macron have been “incredibly upsetting” to the French president, Clare said.
He noted that while the process of proving that she is a woman before the court is in no way a pleasurable experience for the French first lady, “she is firmly resolved to do what it takes to set the record straight.”
The Macrons filed the lawsuit in July in the US state of Delaware, accusing the conservative Youtuber, who has millions of subscribers, of falsely claiming that Brigitte Macron was born male, that the couple are blood relatives, and that Emmanuel Macron is a product of a CIA mind control program.
Owens’ lawyers filed a counter lawsuit, arguing that the case should not have been filed in Delaware, citing high legal costs that the right-wing influencer would incur.
Speaking in July, the right-wing personality doubled down on her claims, adding that she was “fully prepared to take on this battle on behalf of the entire world.”
The rumors about Brigitte date back to at least 2021, when self-proclaimed ‘spiritual medium’ Amandine Roy interviewed independent journalist Natacha Rey, who claimed that Brigitte Macron was born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux.
The Macrons filed a defamation lawsuit in France and initially won it in 2024, only for the ruling to be overturned on appeal in July 2025 on freedom of expression grounds.
24 years his senior, France’s first lady met Emmanuel Macron when he was 15 and she was his literature teacher at school. The couple got married in 2007.
