French President Macron, wife sue podcaster over claims first lady born a man
July 23 (UPI) -- French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, on Wednesday filed a defamation suit in the United States against right-wing podcast host Candace Owens, who claims the first lady was born a man.
The 22-count complaint, which was filed in Delaware Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages. The 219-page lawsuit also named her company, Candace Owens LLC, and the operator of her website, GeorgeTom, Inc.
During an eight-part series, called "Becoming Brigitte," she alleged Brigitt Macron had assumed another person's identity and transitioned to a woman.
Emmanuel Macron is 47 and his wife is 72.
"These claims are demonstrably false, and Owens knew they were false when she published them," the lawsuit said. "Yet, she published them anyway. And the reason is clear: it is not the pursuit of truth, but the pursuit of fame."
The lawsuit said a retraction was sought three times, including a final one on July 1.
The lawsuit said she continued to push "outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions" against the couple.
"Ms. 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. It is our earnest hope that this lawsuit will set the record straight and end this campaign of defamation once and for all."
A spokesperson for Owens said to CBS and CNBC: "Candace Owens is not shutting up. This is a foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist. Candace repeatedly requested an interview with Brigitte Macron.
"Instead of offering a comment, Brigitte is resorting to trying to bully a reporter into submission. In France, politicians can bully journalists, but this is not France. It's America."
Owens also responded to the suit live on YouTube, calling it public relations strategy.
"This is why you're here," she said. "This is how I feel right now. My receiving my papers today."
She has 4.48 million subscribers on her YouTube channel.
The Macrons have been married since 2007, 10 years before he became president.
"People end up believing them, and it disrupts your life, even in your most private moments," Macron said at an event in Paris in 2024.
Owens began making the allegations in March 2024 when she was working for The Daily Wire, a conservative media outlet, after the rumors first surfaced in 2021.
After she was terminated by The Daily Wire, she launched her podcast in June 2024.
In December, the Marons sent their first retraction demand. Then, she launched the podcast series.
On July 2, she published a letter from the Macrons' attorney Clare Locke to her lawyer demanding the retraction.
"If ever there was a clear-cut case of defamation, this is it," attorney Tom Clare told CNBC.
In 2022, Brigitte Macron sued two French women for spreading similar claims. Macrons won the original case but this year the women were victories on appeal with the lawsuit going to a higher court.
Owens said in June that she was wrong to campaign for Donald Trump in the 2024 election after the U.S. became involved in the Israel-Iran conflict.
"He's been a chronic disappointment," Owens said during an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored. "And I feel embarrassed that I told people to go vote for him because this wasn't going to happen, and it is happening."
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