Latest news with #BecomingBrigitte
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.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Candace Owens responds to defamation lawsuit filed by French president, first lady
Candace Owens, a right-wing podcast host, is responding to the defamation lawsuit filed against her by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, over the media figure's claims that the French first lady is male. The Macrons said in a lawsuit filed in Delaware Superior Court on July 23 that Owens has waged a "campaign of global humiliation" and engaged in "relentless bullying" against the 72-year-old Brigitte to "promote her independent platform, gain notoriety, and make money." The 219-page lawsuit details dozens of the podcaster's claims made over several months, and includes corresponding photographs, screenshots and archived newspaper clippings. Owens responded to the lawsuit in her July 24 episode of her eponymous podcast "Candace," spending more than 30 minutes criticizing the legal action, the Macrons and doubling down on her claims. "I think you're sick," Owens said, addressing France's first couple. "I think you're disgusting, and I am fully prepared to take on this battle." The Macrons are suing Owens, her media company and the company that runs her website for 22 counts of defamation and defamation-related claims, seeking an unspecified amount of compensatory and punitive damages. They are represented by Clare Locke and Farnan LLP, well-known firms specializing in high-profile defamation cases, who helped win a $790 million defamation lawsuit against Fox News brought by Dominion Voting Systems in 2023. Owens has been repeating false claims over the first lady's identity for more than a year, the lawsuit alleges, starting in March 2024 when the podcaster stated she stakes her "entire professional reputation" that Brigitte Macron "is in fact a man.' In January, Owens released the first episode in an eight-part podcast series entitled, "Becoming Brigitte," in which the lawsuit says she presented various "outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions." The filing says they include allegations by Owens that Brigitte was born a man and stole someone's identity, that Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron are blood relatives and that they have committed "forgery, fraud and abuses of power to conceal these secrets." More: French president sues Candace Owens over claim about wife Brigitte The filing alleges that Owens ignored the Macrons' requests to retract the allegations. "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 said. In a statement, a spokesperson for Owens said the filing represented a "foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist." Owens has attracted criticism for years over her commentaries on a range of topics, with a history of spreading antisemitic rhetoric, including Holocaust denial and revisionism. She was suspended from YouTube for a week in September after videos of several of her interviews were deemed as hate speech by the Google subsidiary. In the following two months, authorities in New Zealand and Australia rejected her visas to visit the countries ahead of her speaking tour in February and March 2025. Local media reported Australian Immigration Minister Tony Burke mentioned her rhetoric "downplaying the impact of the Holocaust with comments about (German SS officer Josef) Mengele through to claims that Muslims started slavery," as reasons for her visa denial. Wednesday's lawsuit is a rare case of a world leader suing for defamation. To prevail in U.S. defamation cases, public figures like the Macrons must show defendants engaged in "actual malice," meaning they knew what they published was false or had reckless disregard for its truth. Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@ and on X @KathrynPlmr. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Candace Owens responds to French president's lawsuit Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Macrons are suing Candace Owens over her claim that Brigitte Macron is a man: How we got here
The French president and first lady have filed a defamation lawsuit in Delaware over the far-right podcaster's 'verifiably false and devastating lies.' French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, have filed a lawsuit against Candace Owens over the far-right podcaster's repeated claims that France's first lady was born a man. In a 219-page lawsuit filed Wednesday in Delaware Superior Court, the Macrons pointed to a March 2024 post on X in which Owens said that she would stake her 'entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man.' 'Since then Owens has used this false statement to promote her independent platform, gain notoriety, and make money,' the lawsuit states. 'Owens disregarded all credible evidence disproving her claim in favor of platforming known conspiracy theorists and proven defamers.' According to the lawsuit, Owens ignored multiple retraction requests. 'Rather than engage with the President and First Lady's attempts to set the record straight,' the suit states, Owens 'mocked them and used them as additional fodder for her frenzied fan base.' 'We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused,' the Macrons said in a statement. 'It is our earnest hope that this lawsuit will set the record straight and end this campaign of defamation once and for all.' What else does the lawsuit say? In an eight-part podcast series titled 'Becoming Brigitte,' Owens 'endorsed, repeated, and published a series of verifiably false and devastating lies' about the Macrons, according to the complaint. Among them: Brigitte Macron 'was born a man, stole another person's identity, and transitioned to become Brigitte.' The French president and first lady 'are blood relatives committing incest.' Emmanuel Macron was 'chosen to be the President of France as part of the CIA-operated MKUltra program or a similar mind-control program.' And the Macrons are 'committing forgery, fraud, and abuses of power to conceal these secrets.' 'These claims are demonstrably false, and Owens knew they were false when she published them. Yet, she published them anyway,' the lawsuit states. 'And the reason is clear: it is not the pursuit of truth, but the pursuit of fame.' The complaint alleges that Owens subjected the Macrons to a 'campaign of global humiliation,' arguing that the podcaster has attempted to monetize her defamatory claims by selling merchandise such as a T-shirt showing Brigitte Macron on a fake Time magazine 'Man of the Year' cover. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. What was Owens's response? On her podcast Wednesday, Owens was defiant, telling the audience she was being sued by 'the first lady man of France' while doubling down on her claims. 'If you need any more evidence that Brigitte Macron is definitely a man, it is just what is happening right now.' Owens said. 'The idea that you would file this lawsuit is all of the proof that you need.' 'Candace Owens is not shutting up,' her spokesperson said in a separate statement. 'This is a foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist.' Owens was formerly the communications director for the conservative activist organization Turning Point USA and gained notoriety as an outspoken commentator for the Daily Wire. Last year the website severed ties with Owens over a series of comments that were seen as antisemitic. Her YouTube channel, which streams her podcast, has more than 4.4 million subscribers. A similar case in France The lawsuit against Owens comes as the Macrons are pursuing a similar case in France. Last year, Brigitte Macron and her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, won a defamation suit against two women for spreading claims that she was born a male with his name and then took the name Brigitte when she transitioned to a woman. Last month a Paris appeals court overturned the ruling. Brigitte Macron and her brother have appealed that decision to France's highest court. In the U.S. case, the Macrons are being represented by Clare Locke, a law firm that served as co-counsel for Dominion Voting Systems in its historic $787 million settlement with Fox News in 2023 over the cable network's false claims about the 2020 election. A scandalous beginning Emmanuel Macron, 47, and Brigitte Macron, 72, have been married since 2007. They met in 1993, when Emmanuel was in high school and Brigitte was his drama teacher and a married mother of three. He was 15 years old — the age of consent in France — and she was 39. One of her daughters was his classmate. For his senior year, Emmanuel left to attend high school in Paris, but their affair continued, and he vowed to marry her. She later divorced her husband in 2006 and married Emmanuel the following year. Their unconventional relationship came into the global spotlight in 2017, when he became president. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Macrons are suing Candace Owens over her claim that Brigitte Macron is a man: How we got here
The French president and first lady have filed a defamation lawsuit in Delaware over the far-right podcaster's 'verifiably false and devastating lies.' French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, have filed a lawsuit against Candace Owens over the far-right podcaster's repeated claims that France's first lady was born a man. In a 219-page lawsuit filed Wednesday in Delaware Superior Court, the Macrons pointed to a March 2024 post on X in which Owens said that she would stake her 'entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man.' 'Since then Owens has used this false statement to promote her independent platform, gain notoriety, and make money,' the lawsuit states. 'Owens disregarded all credible evidence disproving her claim in favor of platforming known conspiracy theorists and proven defamers.' According to the lawsuit, Owens ignored multiple retraction requests. 'Rather than engage with the President and First Lady's attempts to set the record straight,' the suit states, Owens 'mocked them and used them as additional fodder for her frenzied fan base.' 'We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused,' the Macrons said in a statement. 'It is our earnest hope that this lawsuit will set the record straight and end this campaign of defamation once and for all.' What else does the lawsuit say? In an eight-part podcast series titled 'Becoming Brigitte,' Owens 'endorsed, repeated, and published a series of verifiably false and devastating lies' about the Macrons, according to the complaint. Among them: Brigitte Macron 'was born a man, stole another person's identity, and transitioned to become Brigitte.' The French president and first lady 'are blood relatives committing incest.' Emmanuel Macron was 'chosen to be the President of France as part of the CIA-operated MKUltra program or a similar mind-control program.' And the Macrons are 'committing forgery, fraud, and abuses of power to conceal these secrets.' 'These claims are demonstrably false, and Owens knew they were false when she published them. Yet, she published them anyway,' the lawsuit states. 'And the reason is clear: it is not the pursuit of truth, but the pursuit of fame.' The complaint alleges that Owens subjected the Macrons to a 'campaign of global humiliation,' arguing that the podcaster has attempted to monetize her defamatory claims by selling merchandise such as a T-shirt showing Brigitte Macron on a fake Time magazine 'Man of the Year' cover. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. What was Owens's response? On her podcast Wednesday, Owens was defiant, telling the audience she was being sued by 'the first lady man of France' while doubling down on her claims. 'If you need any more evidence that Brigitte Macron is definitely a man, it is just what is happening right now.' Owens said. 'The idea that you would file this lawsuit is all of the proof that you need.' 'Candace Owens is not shutting up,' her spokesperson said in a separate statement. 'This is a foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist.' Owens was formerly the communications director for the conservative activist organization Turning Point USA and gained notoriety as an outspoken commentator for the Daily Wire. Last year the website severed ties with Owens over a series of comments that were seen as antisemitic. Her YouTube channel, which streams her podcast, has more than 4.4 million subscribers. A similar case in France The lawsuit against Owens comes as the Macrons are pursuing a similar case in France. Last year, Brigitte Macron and her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, won a defamation suit against two women for spreading claims that she was born a male with his name and then took the name Brigitte when she transitioned to a woman. Last month a Paris appeals court overturned the ruling. Brigitte Macron and her brother have appealed that decision to France's highest court. In the U.S. case, the Macrons are being represented by Clare Locke, a law firm that served as co-counsel for Dominion Voting Systems in its historic $787 million settlement with Fox News in 2023 over the cable network's false claims about the 2020 election. A scandalous beginning Emmanuel Macron, 47, and Brigitte Macron, 72, have been married since 2007. They met in 1993, when Emmanuel was in high school and Brigitte was his drama teacher and a married mother of three. He was 15 years old — the age of consent in France — and she was 39. One of her daughters was his classmate. For his senior year, Emmanuel left to attend high school in Paris, but their affair continued, and he vowed to marry her. She later divorced her husband in 2006 and married Emmanuel the following year. Their unconventional relationship came into the global spotlight in 2017, when he became president. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Macrons are suing Candace Owens over her claim that Brigitte Macron is a man: How we got here
The French president and first lady have filed a defamation lawsuit in Delaware over the far-right podcaster's 'verifiably false and devastating lies.' French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, have filed a lawsuit against Candace Owens over the far-right podcaster's repeated claims that France's first lady was born a man. In a 219-page lawsuit filed Wednesday in Delaware Superior Court, the Macrons pointed to a March 2024 post on X in which Owens said that she would stake her 'entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man.' 'Since then Owens has used this false statement to promote her independent platform, gain notoriety, and make money,' the lawsuit states. 'Owens disregarded all credible evidence disproving her claim in favor of platforming known conspiracy theorists and proven defamers.' According to the lawsuit, Owens ignored multiple retraction requests. 'Rather than engage with the President and First Lady's attempts to set the record straight,' the suit states, Owens 'mocked them and used them as additional fodder for her frenzied fan base.' 'We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused,' the Macrons said in a statement. 'It is our earnest hope that this lawsuit will set the record straight and end this campaign of defamation once and for all.' What else does the lawsuit say? In an eight-part podcast series titled 'Becoming Brigitte,' Owens 'endorsed, repeated, and published a series of verifiably false and devastating lies' about the Macrons, according to the complaint. Among them: Brigitte Macron 'was born a man, stole another person's identity, and transitioned to become Brigitte.' The French president and first lady 'are blood relatives committing incest.' Emmanuel Macron was 'chosen to be the President of France as part of the CIA-operated MKUltra program or a similar mind-control program.' And the Macrons are 'committing forgery, fraud, and abuses of power to conceal these secrets.' 'These claims are demonstrably false, and Owens knew they were false when she published them. Yet, she published them anyway,' the lawsuit states. 'And the reason is clear: it is not the pursuit of truth, but the pursuit of fame.' The complaint alleges that Owens subjected the Macrons to a 'campaign of global humiliation,' arguing that the podcaster has attempted to monetize her defamatory claims by selling merchandise such as a T-shirt showing Brigitte Macron on a fake Time magazine 'Man of the Year' cover. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. What was Owens's response? On her podcast Wednesday, Owens was defiant, telling the audience she was being sued by 'the first lady man of France' while doubling down on her claims. 'If you need any more evidence that Brigitte Macron is definitely a man, it is just what is happening right now.' Owens said. 'The idea that you would file this lawsuit is all of the proof that you need.' 'Candace Owens is not shutting up,' her spokesperson said in a separate statement. 'This is a foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist.' Owens was formerly the communications director for the conservative activist organization Turning Point USA and gained notoriety as an outspoken commentator for the Daily Wire. Last year the website severed ties with Owens over a series of comments that were seen as antisemitic. Her YouTube channel, which streams her podcast, has more than 4.4 million subscribers. A similar case in France The lawsuit against Owens comes as the Macrons are pursuing a similar case in France. Last year, Brigitte Macron and her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, won a defamation suit against two women for spreading claims that she was born a male with his name and then took the name Brigitte when she transitioned to a woman. Last month a Paris appeals court overturned the ruling. Brigitte Macron and her brother have appealed that decision to France's highest court. In the U.S. case, the Macrons are being represented by Clare Locke, a law firm that served as co-counsel for Dominion Voting Systems in its historic $787 million settlement with Fox News in 2023 over the cable network's false claims about the 2020 election. A scandalous beginning Emmanuel Macron, 47, and Brigitte Macron, 72, have been married since 2007. They met in 1993, when Emmanuel was in high school and Brigitte was his drama teacher and a married mother of three. He was 15 years old — the age of consent in France — and she was 39. One of her daughters was his classmate. For his senior year, Emmanuel left to attend high school in Paris, but their affair continued, and he vowed to marry her. She later divorced her husband in 2006 and married Emmanuel the following year. Their unconventional relationship came into the global spotlight in 2017, when he became president.
