American conservative commentator Candace Owens has been accused by French President Macron and his wife, Brigitte, of attempting to boost her online presence and cash in by continued public questioning of Mrs Macron’s sexuality.
The Times reports the couple have updated their legal action, brought in July, to describe the way Owens has expanded on her unstinting assertion Mrs Macron, 72, was born male. Their lawyers wrote:
Since we filed this lawsuit, Ms Owens has only strengthened our case by doubling down on, and escalating, her knowingly false and defamatory rhetoric against the Macrons.
She has continued to use her podcast to expand her lies about the Macrons, sell merchandise making fun of the Macrons, and collect donations based on her ‘reporting’.
The Times details Owens, 36, has just this this month launched a new season of Becoming Brigitte, a series she started last year, and has “gone so far as to suggest that the Macrons are involved in an alleged conspiracy to distract Owens from investigating Charlie Kirk’s assassination,” the amended lawsuit adds.
“Owens’s fan base has grown to 7.2 million followers on X and 5.21 million subscribers on YouTube,” the lawyers wrote. “The most popular podcasts in the world have discussed her ‘investigation’ into the Macrons’ history.”
President Macron and his wife launched a 218-page defamation lawsuit against Owens through a Delaware court after she alleged the First Lady was born male.
The couple filed suit in July over “substantial reputational damage” against Owens addressing what they called repeated “falsehoods” by the podcaster that Mrs Macron is in fact secretly a man, as Breitbart News reported.
They describe Owens’ allegations as “outlandish, defamatory and far-fetched fictions” as made in the podcast series that continues to draw millions of listeners.
For her part, Owens has strongly pushed back against the lawsuit, claiming the Macrons are engaging in a “public relations strategy.”
She has vowed to fight to the bitter end, saying: “On behalf of the entire world, I will see you in court.”
Mrs Macron has vowed to present photographic evidence to court to prove she is a woman as part of the lawsuit.
This is not the first time the Macrons have turned to the legal system to combat rumours about Brigitte’s gender.
In 2022, Mrs Macron filed a formal complaint for public defamation in France against freelance journalist Natacha Rey and self-described “medium” Amandine Roy.
The pair were convicted in 2023 by a French court of libel and were ultimately fined $2,600.
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