Macrons file lawsuit against US right-wing podcaster over claims France's first lady was born male
The 218-page complaint against Candace Owens, who has millions of followers on X and YouTube, was filed by the Macrons in Delaware Superior Court and seeks a jury trial and unspecified punitive damages.
In a statement released by their lawyer, the Macrons said they filed the lawsuit after Owens repeatedly ignored requests to retract false and defamatory statements made on an eight-part YouTube and podcast series called 'Becoming Brigitte.'
'Owens' campaign of defamation was plainly designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families and to garner attention and notoriety,' they said.
'We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused.
Advertisement
'It is our earnest hope that this lawsuit will set the record straight and end this campaign of defamation once and for all.'
The suit accuses Owens of using her popular podcast to spread 'verifiably false and devastating lies' about the Macrons including that Brigitte Macron was born a man, that they are blood relatives and that Macron was chosen to be France's president as part of a CIA-operated mind control program.
'If ever there was a clear-cut case of defamation, this is it,' Tom Clare, a lawyer for the Macrons, said in a statement.
'Owens both promoted and expanded on those falsehoods and invented new ones, all designed to cause maximum harm to the Macrons and maximize attention and financial gain for herself.'
Brigitte Macron, 72, has also taken to the courts in France to combat claims she was born a man.
Two women were convicted in September of last year of spreading false claims after they posted a YouTube video in December 2021 alleging that Brigitte Macron had once been a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux – who is actually her brother.
The ruling was overturned by a Paris appeals court and Macron appealed to the highest appeals court, the Court de Cassation, earlier this month.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Incredible moment wounded Ukrainian soldier is delivered e-bike by drone so he can escape while surrounded by Russians
THIS is the jaw-dropping moment a wounded Ukrainian soldier is delivered an e-bike via drone to escape Russian forces. The brave troop had been stranded for several days Advertisement 8 This is the jaw-dropping moment a wounded Ukrainian soldier is delivered an e-bike via drone Credit: YouTube / @sylasvobody_44 8 Unbelievable footage appears to show a drone slowly winching the electric bike down for the man Credit: YouTube / @sylasvobody_44 8 He is captured escaping on the bike Credit: YouTube / @sylasvobody_44 Unbelievable footage appears to show a drone slowly winching the electric bike down for the soldier, who was said to have been swarmed by Russian forces. Rubizh brigade, who shared the footage, said three of its troops had been tragically killed by enemy fire during the operation around Siversk, northern Ukraine. This meant only the one lone soldier remained - forcing him to hold the position alone. The troop, with the call sign "Tanker" said of a terrifying attack: "Our drones covered us from above as best as they could. Advertisement read more news "Then they threw two gas cylinders straight into our hole and a lighter. We caught fire." Having sustained a leg injury in the Russian inferno, the soldier was left unable to escape without help - leaving him stranded for four to five days. He said: "Every day, I was surrounded, from all sides. I fought back as best I could." Chief of staff in the brigade Mykola Gritsenko said a rescue team was unable to reach the injured troop without their own safety being put at risk. Advertisement Most read in The US Sun Latest Gritsenko explained: "It was impossible to drive up with equipment because the enemy was everywhere. "He couldn't get out on his own either, because he had to walk 1.5km to the nearest position. Watch as paranoid Putin is escorted by anti-drone rocket launcher on walkabout after fearful despot cancelled 'Navy Day' "In his condition, with his injuries and lower limbs, he simply wouldn't have made it." But the brigade soon found an alternative solution - airlifting an e-bike using a drone. Advertisement UAVs have become a key tool in Ukraine's arsenal - allowing soldiers to navigate behind enemy lines without endangering them. The remote-operated aircraft is often stacked with explosives, making it a rarity seeing them in an evacuation scenario. The Battalion Freedom Force brigade explained how two initial attempts to deliver the bike were unsuccessful. The first drone was shot down, while the second's motors burnt out. Advertisement On the third try, however, the bike reached the soldier and he managed to ride 400m - but he then hit a remote mine and was thrown into the air. The brave troop then limped a further 200m before thankfully being met by his comrades and taken to safety. 8 Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building which was hit a day before, by a Russian missile strike Credit: Reuters 8 Smoke rises over a residential building destroyed by a Russian air strike on Kramatorsk, Ukraine Credit: AP Advertisement 8 Emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire a residential house destroyed by a Russian air strike on Kramatorsk Credit: AP A second e-bike was then delivered, which he rode for 15 minutes until he was able to reach a safe zone and evacuated. Gritsenko said: "To carry out this operation, they had to calculate the right time of day, the right weather conditions that would allow him to do it. "The weight of this electric bike itself reaches almost 40kg." Advertisement On Thursday, Vladimir Putin's evil forces unleashed a which killed 11 people, including a six-year-old and his mother, and left Kyiv decimated. Vlad reportedly sent eight Iskander-K cruise missiles and 309 Shahed drones, according to Ukraine's armed forces. Five buildings were directly hit, they added. Advertisement He said: "Kyiv. Missile strike. Directly into a residential building. People under the rubble. All services are on site. Russian terrorists." Kyiv mayor Vitaly Klitschko paid tribute to those who were killed as he described the attack on the capital as the heaviest night of horror for children since the start of the war. Telegram channel Pravda Gerashchenko added: "While rescuers are clearing debris and searching for survivors, people are at the scene of the tragedy waiting for news about their loved ones. "These scenes break the heart. Show them to those who think the maniac Putin can be appeased." Advertisement The latest strike shows Putin has no intention of avoiding Trump's ire and cutting a peace deal with Ukraine. 8 Smoke rises over a residential building destroyed by a Russian air strike Credit: AP 8 Local people react after a residential building is destroyed by a Russian air strike Credit: AP
The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Mike Tyson didn't hesitate when naming ‘monster' scariest fighter ever who ‘knocked out four cops'
MIKE TYSON revealed the "scariest fighter that ever lived" - who would even knock out police officers. Tyson still stands as the youngest heavyweight world champion of all time - aged just 20 when he beat Trevor Berbick for the title in 1986. 3 Mike Tyson revealed the 'scariest fighter that ever lived' Credit: YouTube And during his frightening prime, Iron Mike lived up to his moniker of Baddest Man on The Planet. But the reformed 59-year-old admits even he was not as intimidating as boxing great Sonny Liston. Tyson said on "Sonny Liston would come to a town, say he's in St. Louis and he comes to Chicago, the cops would be [like] 'Listen, you can't come'. READ MORE IN boxing "He knocked out around four cops, broke their jaw, took their gun, they were beating him with the night stick over his head. "There's no fighter like Sonny Liston, Sonny Liston's a monster.' Liston was once a gang member committing muggings and armed robberies - landing him a five-year prison sentence in 1950 during his early 20s. And after being released in 1952, Liston began his amateur boxing career and he turned pro only a year later. Most read in Boxing CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Liston first reigned as heavyweight champion after beating Floyd Paterson in 1962 - winning the rematch a year later. He then faced Muhammad Ali - Cassius Clay at the time - in 1964 - losing twice to The Greatest. Pariah - The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston Liston's last fight was in 1970 against Chuck Wepner - the American heavyweight Just seven months later, the boxing legend was found dead by his wife Geraldine in their Las Vegas home. Needle marks found in his arm suggested he may have died of a heroin overdose while other theories claim he was murdered by the mob. Liston's career was allegedly controlled by mafiosos - and a row over a cut in a loan-sharking operation was a popular theory for his sudden death. A former fight fixer also claimed Liston - an associate of England's notorious Kray twins - was supposed to take a dive in his last fight. But when he didn't, he is said to have lost the Mafia a lot of money. A coroner also suggested that the amount of heroin in his system would not have caused an overdose. It led to conspiracies that his death was staged to look like a drug overdose - despite Liston's known fear of needles. Author Shaun Assael said: "I am willing to entertain the idea that it was an overdose, but not an accidental one. "The preponderance of evidence I found suggests that it is more than likely he was killed than not." 3 Sonny Liston pictured with England's notorious Kray twins Credit: Getty Images 3 Muhammad Ali twice beat Liston Credit: Bettmann
Irish Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
See inside the hidden holding cells under the CCJ and our largest remand prison
These are the hidden hallways of a bustling underground 'mini-prison' that sits right beneath Ireland's main court building. The Irish Mirror gained unprecedented access to the massive holding cell area of Dublin's Criminal Courts of Justice (CCJ) in Parkgate Street - and to Ireland's largest remand prison - Cloverhill, in an exclusive video podcast to be released today. In the Shattered Lives podcast special, available on the Irish Mirror's YouTube channel today (Friday), three Governors of the Irish Prison Service also opened up about the reality of the committal process - bringing prisoners to and from the CCJ - and adjusting them to the realities of jail life. They also revealed to us the grim reality that weapons have been dropped into prisons via drone - and how 'tensions to this day' remain behind bars due to the Kinahan / Hutch feud. Speaking to the Irish Mirror inside a hallway consisting of 21 holding cells situated right beneath the courts in Dublin, Paddy Moran Assistant Governor of Mountjoy Prison told us: 'As you can see as we're walking there's a number of different holding cells. This would mimic what would actually happen on a larger scale in an actual prison, where we have to keep the different prisoners from different factions separated. It might be to do with feuds or it could be to do with all sorts of things like debts, people who might have given information or might be perceived to have given information to the guard. "We have to protect them while they're in custody and keep them separate from each other.' Paddy Moran and Paul Healy in one of the holding cells at the CCJ Holding cells at the CCJ Paddy is a senior official in a prison that was at one stage entirely segregated due to the bitter rivalries of the Kinahan Hutch feud - which killed 18 men. He told us of the unique challenges of that time - and how many of those tensions haven't gone away behind bars. 'That caused significant headaches within the prison service because there were large numbers of different gangs around the country that were, you know, pledging their allegiances to different sides in that particular high-profile feud. Yes, the feud has simmered down publicly thank God, but there are still lingering issues within the prison system of different prisoners who have been involved in different situations that can't mix with each other,' he revealed. 'There's still tensions to this day. But there are other feuds going on around the country. Not as well publicised but oftentimes pretty dangerous deadly feuds as well.' Inside Cloverhill Prison, which is home to over 400 prisoners awaiting trial or sentence, the Irish Mirror was granted access to many areas, including the A2 landing, where we saw inside a cell - where a TV, bunk beds and other facilities were visible. We were shown the reception area, where a prisoner is brought in and comprehensively searched - as well as one of the yards - which is protected by netting that nonetheless can sometimes be breached by drones. We also saw the 'Circle' - a massive area in the very centre of the prison where most other areas of the jail are accessible. Kevin O'Connell, Governor of Cloverhill Prison speaking to Paul Healy in The Circle area of the prison Bridget Allen and Kevin O'Connell, Governor of Cloverhill Prison, speaking to Paul Healy on one of the landings And in one shocking revelation to this paper, Cloverhill Prison Governor Kevin O'Connell revealed that prisoners have successfully managed to smuggle weapons into prison - after they were dropped into the yard via drone. 'Yes, I have seen it here myself. I have seen shivs, stanley blades and weapons and tools as well,' he told us. Kevin O'Connell, Governor of Cloverhill Prison, speaking to Paul Healy Cloverhill prison 'Prisoners will come up with ingenious ways of trying to conceal contraband and phones when they get into the prison. They'll hide it behind a light, a screen or whatever. In the round, the number of weapons used prisoner on prisoner has reduced greatly and that's been a positive piece and that's down to the de-escalation techniques and the work our staff do with our prisoners.' The Governor revealed that he has seen Stanley blades, shivs, mobile phones and all manner of contraband snuck into the prison - often in very inventive ways. Speaking to us by the shower area where prisoners undress and are searched before being committed, he spoke to us of one occasion where a prisoner tried to sneak over 700 tablets inside by hanging them from his nether region. Cloverhill Prison landing 'One of our staff noticed a prisoner here at ten o'clock at night. He wasn't in a full state of undress, he had his bottom half covered. One of our staff noticed he had something concealed on his lower half… to his groin area. Upon closer inspection they uncovered a quantity of several hundred tablets on his person,' he revealed. In the podcast, we also spoke to experienced Assistant Governor Bridget Allen of the Irish Prison Service Training College, which has sites in Portlaoise and Dublin. She speaks in depth on the podcast about training recruit prison officers and on highlighting the prisoner journey from the courthouse all the way to the prison. Phil O'Meara, Assistant Governor with the Prison Service Escort Group (PSEC), also speaks on the podcast - showing us the 'dock' in Court 6 of the CCJ, and informing us how prison staff escort a prisoner to that area and remain offside but on constant standby for any event during the course of a trial. Cloverhill Prison cell Cloverhill Prison exercise yard with mesh covering 'The staff will escort the prisoner through this area here into the court as soon as his case is called. Staff will put themselves into a position where they are offside and won't prejudice the trial duration of the sitting,' he told us. 'The CCJ here is a very busy place as you can imagine here, Monday to Friday, and in the unfortunate event that something does happen, we have staff that we can call on straight away to assist if we have any disturbances." Assistant Governor Bridget Allen added: 'All our staff would carry radios as well. We have up to 60-70 staff here (in the CCJ) on a daily basis. Every escort that comes into the court has a radio on them so it's very easy for us to call for help if needed. I suppose it's part of our training. We're trained how to deal with those situations,' she said. Showing us inside a holding cell located directly below one of the courts, Assistant Governor Paddy Moran told of that stage of the process - where a newly-committed prisoner is beginning to adjust to their new reality. 'The first person that they're going to meet is a prison officer. We will be dealing with people that could be in crisis. They could be volatile, could be suicidal, could be stressed. Yes, they have committed a crime but we have to provide support to help them get their head around what has actually happened from there on in. I would treat any prisoner I meet the way I would want to be treated if I was in their shoes,' he said. The Irish Prison Service is currently running a recruit prison officer competition and you can find out more by visiting Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
