Latest news with #Owens
The Independent
7 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Candace Owens says ‘they'll fake kill' Brigitte Macron rather than go through discovery in defamation lawsuit
Candace Owens has doubled down on her baseless conspiracy theory that the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron was 'born a man,' which prompted a defamation lawsuit against the far-right provocateur over the 'demonstrably false' claims she's made throughout her 'transvestigation.' Taking it even further on Monday, the MAGA podcaster predicted that Brigitte Macron 's death would be faked before the case reached the discovery phase, claiming that the hypothetical staged killing of Macron would shut down all discussion 'about her being a man anymore.' Following months of Owens' false claims that 'Brigitte Macron is a man' and 'he transitioned' secretly decades ago, which have seen the anti-trans podcaster promote a byzantine and debunked conspiracy theory, the Macrons filed a 219-page defamation complaint last week. According to the lawsuit, Owens has engaged in a 'relentless and unjustified smear campaign' that has 'caused tremendous damage to the Macrons,' adding that her 'tranvestigation' podcast series was designed to feed a 'frenzied fan base' in 'pursuit of fame' and profit. 'Owens has dissected their appearance, their marriage, their friends, their family, and their personal history — twisting it all into a grotesque narrative designed to inflame and degrade,' the complaint declares. 'The result is relentless bullying on a worldwide scale. Every time the Macrons leave their home, they do so knowing that countless people have heard, and many believe, these vile fabrications. It is invasive, dehumanizing, and deeply unjust.' The 22-count complaint, which was filed in the Superior Court of Delaware, seeks punitive damages against Owens and her media companies. Brigitte Macron had already been awarded damages last year when two far-right influencers also accused her of being a transgender woman. The Independent has reached out to lawyers for the Macrons for comment on Owens' latest claims. Having said she'd 'stake my entire professional reputation on' the bogus claim about the Macrons, Owens reacted to the lawsuit by saying she'd been sued by the 'first lady man' of France. 'I am fully prepared to take on this battle,' she proclaimed on her podcast last week. 'On behalf of the entire world, I will see you in court.' During her latest episode on Monday, Owens assured her audience that she didn't need financial help yet and that she believes the case itself will just fade away because Brigitte Macron would stage her death in order to avoid the 'truth' from coming out. "You know, I always want to be, if I ever come to and I say, I'm putting up a GoFundMe and I need the money, I want to make sure I really need the money, you know, and right now, we're obviously looking and talking with lawyers,' she said in response to a viewer question. 'We do not really need the money at this moment. It's very early on.' At the same time, she stated that lawsuits of this nature can be very invasive and expensive, but that it was the Macrons – and not her – who would blink first and find a way to drop the lawsuit. 'But I know that the process is supposed to be the pain, that they want to drag this out,' she asserted. 'I can't see them wanting to make it to discovery. I just don't see that happening.' Owens continued: 'I think they'll fake kill Brigitte first. They'll be like, 'Oh, Brigitte passed away from stress because of what Candace did. Oh, nobody can talk about her being a man anymore because Brigitte's gone.'' After floating the idea of a 'fake' death in order to avoid going through discovery and depositions, saying this would be the 'more likely' scenario, Owens then admitted she had no idea that any of this would actually occur. 'I don't know, but that's my instinct anyway,' she added.
Daily Mirror
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
WWE superstar left with 'terrible' injury after move went wrong on Netflix show
New Netflix series shows physical cost for WWE Superstars A WWE superstar admitted he was left in 'terrible' condition physically after a move went wrong on Netflix show. New docuseries Unreal, now streaming on the platform is revealing some rarely seen insight into the making of the wrestling company. According to its synopsis, fans are invited for the first time ever, to step into the WWE writer's room and outside the ring among other places with their favourite WWE Superstars. Cameras take viewers where the drama is just as intense offstage as it is under the spotlight across this unique five-part series showing behind the scenes like never before. This includes showing what really happened when a move didn't go as planned during the most recent Royal Rumble. WWE Undisputed Champion Cody Rhodes took on challenger Kevin Owens in a ladder match. It was a brutal confrontation which left Owens bloody faced. However neither superstar walked away unscathed. At some point in the match, Owens powerbombs Rhodes onto a ladder but footage from behind the scenes in the docuseries reveals it didn't go as intended. As Rhodes returns backstage following the conclusion of the match, Owens quickly asks his opponent if he is OK. He says: "Are you OK, buddy? I'm so sorry about the bomb. Because I wanted the ladder to be so that you could just go straight, 'cause I can't see where I put you. But you put it the other way, so I kinda had to walk with you, and I didn't wanna put you too far, so then they looked like sh**. You ate it right on your neck. Are you okay?" Footage from the match shows that Rhodes landed unexpectedly with such force that he sprung upwards into a standing position. He tells Owens: "I bounced into the nether realm on the suplex...I was blown away where I landed." A producer then asks Rhodes how he is 'physically' to which he admits: "Terrible. But I'm not gonna bi*** and moan, and my legs work, my spine is not hurt, my neck is not hurt and I don't have a concussion. So those are my prerequisites for not complaining. So no complaints from me." It is not the only real-world injury documented by the series as it also shows how Rhea Ripley made her comeback to win the Women's World Championship on Raw's Netflix debut. A year previously Rhea, real name Demi Bennett describes when her 'whole year changed' during a backstage altercation with her rival Live Morgan. Morgan is shown attacking Rhea in the hallways and throwing her into the wall. However, this lead to a serious injury for Ripley, so much so she dropped her persona. Ripley says: "I have a third-grade AC sprain. I full on broke character as well in that scene. My collarbone and my shoulder blade got ripped apart, She had to kick me into the second wall, but my shoulder was already stuffed up, so I'm like , holding my arm. "But then Liv gets on top of me and starts punching me in the bad shoulder and I was like 'Somebody please get her off me'. She explains to the camera that she for now opted to not have surgery required to fix the injury. That is because it would double her recovery time from three months to six months, which she didn't want to do. Paul Levesque, otherwise known as Triple H is then seen comforting her and telling her to keep her chin up.
Daily Mirror
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Netflix's WWE Unreal shows scenes never aired before including move banned for decade
Netflix docuseries reveals some of the WWE's recent secrets during a title match New Netflix docuseries WWE Unreal has revealed scenes that were not originally aired during the original live broadcast of one its wrestling events. This included the use of a move which has been banned for a decade. A new docuseries debuting on the streamer today, titled Unreal gives fans a rare insight into what really goes on behind the scenes, to make a show for the WWE. This includes a first ever peek behind the door of the writer's room where former superstars including Paul Levesque, formerly Triple H in the ring and now Head of Content for the company make the big decisions. Previously, Levesque has explained that WWE often thinks of its storylines in seasons, with its biggest often utilised during the Road to Wrestlemania. Earlier this year, the Wrestling giant made its debut on Netflix after a bumper deal was agreed between the companies. In the five-part series, the second episode shows just how creative they can be. This included how they portrayed the rivalry between then undisputed champion Cody Rhodes and his new rival Kevin Owens. They put together a scene between the wrestlers out of the ring and away from their own television cameras ahead of the show. Cody explains: "Triple H had this idea for Kevin to beat me up outside my tour bus off camera. We're gonna hope fans capture it and, of course, the did." This was a trick that the creative team seemingly repeated. After a Smackdown Saturday main event in December last year, when the cameras had apparently stopped rolling for the live broadcast, the show actually kept going. Included in this moment, was Kevin Owens, using a move that is generally banned and has been for more than a decade in the industry because of how dangerous it is - the piledriver. Bruce Prichard, WWE Executive Director explains: "The piledriver for so long was just a move that internally we had banned from using just because of the danger it does present." Cody Rhodes adds: "Pulling out a piledriver is something that has been so taboo and not done in WWE for a decade. It was a very good call." One reason explained in the writer's room for doing this is to keep fans talking about the show after it has finished airing on TV and leading all the way up to the next episode. It is no surprise that this was done shortly before WWE's Netflix debut and while it was still being broadcast on NBC in America. Following the conclusion of that match during Smackdown, the team had Cody Rhodes celebrating his win, with the commentary team thanking the audience for tuning in. However, Triple H then sends word for Kevin to 'knock him on his ass and then just piledrive him'. Owens does just that, as many fans film the moment on their fans and post it on social media. To add to the drama, Owens stands on Cody Rhodes as he is stretchered off then Triple H appears himself to confront Owens, after being the one to deliver all his instructions. Owens and Triple H then reconcile backstage and congratulate each other on their performances.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Can the president and first lady of France stop Candace Owens' lies?
Why is American right-wing commentator Candace Owens so obsessed with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte? 'I am disgusted by your relationship,' Owens said in January, after the Macrons asked her to stop accusing the French first lady of being a transgender woman. 'You make me sick, Brigitte.' Sure, in our patriarchal world, it's unusual for a wife to be 24 years older than her husband. But President Trump is also 24 years older than his wife, Melania. So, seriously, what is the big whoop? One answer can be found in the 219-page defamation lawsuit filed Wednesday against Owens by the Macrons in Delaware Superior Court. In exhaustive detail, the lawsuit lays out the preposterous claims made by Owens about the French first couple, subjecting them to 'a campaign of global humiliation.' The law firm representing the Macrons, Clare Locke, is the same outfit that won a massive settlement against Fox News for defaming Dominion Voting Systems in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. As the lawsuit recounts, in March 2024, Owens was dismissed by Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire media operation after making a series of antisemitic comments, including repeating the 'blood libel' that Jews drink the blood of Christian babies. In June 2024, she launched her newly independent YouTube channel and, according to the Macron lawsuit, was hungry for attention and 'searching for a salacious conspiracy theory to increase viewership.' At one point on X, she described her wackadoodle claims about the Macrons as the 'biggest scandal that has ever happened in politics in human history.' Oh, I dunno. As far as political scandals go, I think real ones like Watergate, Iran-Contra and the Jan. 6 insurrection were a teensy bit more impactful than a fantasy about a first lady's sex change. So how, exactly, did Owens land on a conspiracy theory focused on the French president and first lady? According to the Macron lawsuit, in September 2019, Owens became involved in French far-right politics after she was invited to be the keynote speaker at the Convention de la Droite (Convention of the Right) in Paris. Her 15-minute speech was the usual Stephen Miller-esque litany of complaints familiar to Christian nationalists: immigrants, political correctness, secularism and, of course, the 'fake news media' are ruining America. She made spectacularly asinine assertions about police killings of unarmed Black men, claiming that in 2016, 'only' 16 unarmed Black men were slain by police and that Black men had a higher chance of being struck by lightning than killed by cops. She also endeared herself to her audience when she accused Macron of being a weak leader and, horrors, a 'globalist.' In any case, it seems that accusing high-profile women of being a transgender has become fashionable on the transphobic far right. As you may recall, some of this country's most heinous conspiracy theorists have leveled the same bizarre charge against Michelle Obama, whose husband, the Hawaii-born former President Obama, was repeatedly accused by Trump of not being born in the U.S. These outlandish accusations spring from the impulse to inflict as much political damage as possible. In early 2025, Owens launched an eight-part series on her YouTube channel called 'Becoming Brigitte.' In it, she claimed the French president is gay. That his relationship with Brigitte is incestuous. That they engage in pedophilia and worship a satanic idol called Baphomet. She has cited a 2021 Daily Mail story as her source, when in fact that piece was a complete debunking of the very conspiracy theories she was promoting. The Daily Mail traced the origin of the conspiracy theory to a piece published two months earlier in a French far-right newsletter, Faits et Documents (Facts and Documents). The allegations, according to the Daily Mail, were an attempt to damage the 2022 reelection prospects of Macron, who faced two right-wing opponents. Fait et Documents claimed no childhood photographs of Brigitte Macron could be found. But, as the Daily Mail — and the Macron lawsuit — note, there is a newspaper announcement of her 1953 birth, photos of her taking communion at 7, and photos of her first wedding. How likely are the French first couple to prevail in a defamation lawsuit? The standard of proof in American courts, especially for people as famous as they are, is very, very high. The Macrons will have to prove that Owens acted with 'actual malice,' that she knew what she was saying is false and said it anyway, or that she acted with reckless disregard for whether it was true or not. The Macrons, according to their lawsuit, sent her three separate retraction demands, explicitly stating that her claims were false, and included evidence such as birth records, marriage records and photographs. They have asked for a jury trial and unspecified damages. Owens has remained defiant, claiming to her nearly 4.5 million YouTube subscribers that the Macrons are trying to silence her, and that their lawsuit is proof that her allegations are correct. 'I am fully prepared to take on this battle,' Owens said. 'On behalf of the entire world, I will see you in court.' Personally, I think she should be nervous. Robert Barnes, the right-wing attorney who defended the loony conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, agrees. 'Owens told some of the dumbest, obvious lies one can tell,' Barnes wrote Thursday on X. 'She has 0% chance of winning in court.' I can hardly wait. Bluesky: @rabcarianThreads: @rabcarian
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Julia Molony: Why the Macrons' lawsuit against the far-right activist who calls Brigitte a man may backfire
Still, the cross-border legal clash between the far-right YouTuber Candace Owens and Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron definitely wasn't on my bingo card for 2025. And yet here we are. As a professional internet edge-lord, Owens is no stranger to a little litigation. 'The life of Candace Owens, it works like this,' she said on her podcast last week. 'I wake up, stretch, I have a cup of coffee, and then I am served with a lawsuit.' It must have been a surprise, nonetheless, on Wednesday, to see the lawsuit of the day bore the signature of Monsieur and Madame Le President de la Republique. The Macrons say they are seeking justice against the American commentator and conspiracy theorist. Owens is host of an eight-part documentary series, titled Becoming Brigitte and based on a French book of the same name, in which she claims, among other things, that Brigitte Macron was born male and is guilty of statutory rape of Macron while he was still a student at the school where she taught. These, say the Macrons, are 'verifiably false and devastating lies'. Owens' interest in the couple represents a sustained 'campaign of global humiliation'. She has repeatedly ignored requests to correct the record, they say, and so, in a fit of piqued Gallic pride, they have launched a legal battle. Should they have though? They have requested a jury trial, and even gone so far as to pledge to make an appearance in person in the court in Delaware, where the suit was filed. According to the standards of now-unfashionable concepts such as fairness and truth, they arguably have a case. That said, after the recent slapgate controversy in Vietnam, Brigitte and Emmanuel are not immune to accusations of peddling false narratives themselves. US courts grant broad discretion to individuals to comment on public officials But it is unusual, unprecedented, even — this cross-border case between a sitting head of state and their internet troll. It is folly, was the unspoken subtext behind comments given by legal expert Jane Kirtley. 'I think President Macron is going to have a really difficult time with this libel suit,' said the professor of media ethics and law at the University of Minnesota. 'And the reason for that is really simple. "Under US law, public officials are required to prove actual malice, knowledge of falsity and reckless disregard for the truth. In [Macron's] lengthy complaint, he has certainly alleged that on the part of this podcaster, but I think he's also probably not giving enough deference to the fact that courts in the United States grant broad discretion to individuals to comment on public officials.' It raises the question, do the Macrons understand what they are getting themselves into? Owens called it a 'disaster PR strategy' for the Macrons Even their legal submission, running to 218 pages, itemising in exhaustive detail their complaints and responding, point-by-point to the accusations, betrays a yawning cultural gap that will probably work against them. It exposes, too, the infinitely unshakable French faith in form-filling and paperwork. Owens, meanwhile, seems to be relishing all the attention. Dining out on the new international profile the case has brought her, she called it a 'disaster PR strategy' for the Macrons. For her, though, she said it represented an 'irresistible and delicious' opportunity to face France's 'First Lady Man' in the flesh. 'On behalf of the whole world, I will see you in court,' she declared, with gladiatorial flourish, addressing an online auditorium billions strong. It is tempting to suspect the Macrons simply couldn't resist this opportunity to seize the moral high ground. A battle to defend their reputation and their rights was too tantalising, even if participation in a trial risks tarnishing the dignified, statesmen-like image that centrist European leaders, Macron chief among them, are trying to reinforce as a silent rebuke to the vulgarities of populism. In their case against Owens, the Macrons seem to imagine themselves as standard bearers for European values Not least because it serves as a proxy for a broader, epoch-defining ideological clash between European liberalism and the anti-enlightenment neo-conservatism of Trump's America. Macron himself regularly postures as the poster-boy for the former on the international stage. He draws on a long tradition of French universalism, and a national self-image cherished in France, as the birthplace of modern liberal democracy. The country that authored the Declaration of the Rights of Man helped shape, in no small part, contemporary notions of civic rights and individual liberty in America. How affronting, then, for Macron to discover his personal dignity skewered and mounted on the implacable spike of the First Amendment. Thinking of Macron and his wife rocking up to court in the US, I am reminded of the speech by Francois Hollande at the 67th United Nations General Assembly: 'France wants to set an example, not to teach others a lesson but because it's our history, our message. Setting an example in promoting fundamental freedoms is our battle and a matter of honour for us.' In their case against Owens, the Macrons seem to imagine themselves as standard bearers for European values, hoping to jog memories in Delaware, America's first state, of a shared philosophical history. It's a nice idea, but I fear their mission is doomed.
