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French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, have launched a new defamation lawsuit, a legal action over statements alleged to be false and damaging to a person’s reputation, against U.S. podcaster Candace Owens, claiming she has kept making assertions about the French first lady’s gender identity.
The couple filed the suit Nov. 4 in a federal court in Tennessee, where Owens lives.
Owens confirmed the filing Monday in a post on the social media platform X, saying the couple had submitted “a NEW set of claims” against her. She said the complaint cites 88 instances and refers to a character she calls “Brigitte-Doll,” which she said would make no further statements.
The complaint accuses Owens of continuing to push claims that cast doubt on Brigitte Macron’s gender identity, including the assertion that she was born male and took on the identity of her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux.
According to the suit, Owens used the claims to promote her independent platform, attract public attention and earn revenue. The Macrons also allege she kept repeating the claims after they filed their first lawsuit in 2025.
The new filing comes after a Delaware judge in October narrowed the scope of the couple’s earlier defamation case, which was filed in July 2025.
The judge dismissed the claims against Owens personally because they fell outside the statute of limitations (the legal deadline for bringing a case), but allowed the case against companies linked to her to move forward.
Owens published a series of videos titled “Becoming Brigitte” in 2025, in which she discussed claims about the French first lady’s identity.
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