French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron hired a U.S. investigative firm to research American conservative commentator Candace Owens before filing a high-profile defamation lawsuit against her in Delaware last month.
According to details shared with the Financial Times, the couple’s legal team engaged Nardello & Co, a New York-based investigative firm, to compile a dossier on Owens, whose podcast series Becoming Brigitte alleged — without evidence — that Brigitte Macron was born male. The Macrons have called the claims “outlandish, defamatory and far-fetched fictions.”
The investigators’ report documented Owens’ connections with French far-right figures, right-wing populists in the U.S. and U.K., and her online interactions with Russian nationalist philosopher Alexander Dugin. It also noted that Russian state-controlled outlets had amplified her content, though it found no evidence of direct personal or business ties to Russian officials.
Dan Nardello, the firm’s executive chair and a former New York federal prosecutor, said the Macrons entered the case “with full knowledge of who Owens is aligned with.” The president’s lawyer, Tom Clare, told the FT the research was intended both to understand Owens’ interest in the Macrons and to give jurors context for her statements.
Owens, a prominent right-wing influencer with millions of listeners, dismissed the investigation as overreach, pointing out that it highlighted only minimal interactions with Russian-linked figures. She accused the couple of “spending real money to quiet the paranoia of her past.”
The investigation traced the origins of the conspiracy theory to a 2017 Spanish blog post, noting it gained traction in France from 2021 through the efforts of Xavier Poussard, a far-right former editor. Poussard later translated his work into English and shared it with Owens and other U.S. conservatives. Owens interviewed Poussard for her podcast, portraying him as a truth-teller silenced by the Macrons.
Researchers found that once Becoming Brigitte aired, Russian outlets including Tsargrad TV — run by Kremlin ally Konstantin Malofeev — and RT reported on it. Owens has also been a featured speaker alongside French far-right politician Marion Maréchal and has shared mutual posts with her on social media.
Beyond French politics, the report catalogued Owens’ online attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, her public ties to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and controversial online personalities Andrew and Tristan Tate.
The Macrons’ lawsuit accuses Owens of knowingly spreading falsehoods, including that Brigitte Macron was born “Jean-Michel Trogneux.” Their legal team says the French president and first lady are prepared to appear in person at the trial in Delaware — a rare step for a sitting head of state confronting an online influencer in court.
