French President Emmanuel Macron has defended his lawsuit against American political commentator Candace Owens, saying the legal action was necessary to protect both his family and his own honour.
Speaking to Paris Match, Macron acknowledged the risk of triggering a “Streisand effect” — amplifying the very rumours he seeks to quash — but said the scale of the conspiracy theory in the United States left him with no alternative.
“They advised us not to sue,” Macron said. “But it has taken on such magnitude in the United States that we had to act … They’re talking about the identity of the first lady of France, of a wife, mother and grandmother. It’s a matter of defending my honour.”
Owens, 36, who has four million YouTube subscribers, has repeatedly promoted an unfounded claim that First Lady Brigitte Macron, 72, was born male and later transitioned. The rumour, which first circulated in fringe French circles five years ago, resurfaced last year when Owens amplified it on her platform.
Since the lawsuit was filed in Delaware, Owens has escalated her rhetoric, dismissing the legal action as “goofy” and a “vicious public relations” stunt. She has vowed to fight in court, saying she is “fully prepared to take on this battle.”
The Macrons’ 22-count suit seeks a jury trial and punitive damages, accusing Owens of knowingly spreading “verifiably false and devastating lies” while profiting from them. According to the filing, Owens ignored multiple requests to retract the claims. No trial date has been set.
Macron also criticised American conservatives who framed the lawsuit as an attack on free speech, pointing to restrictions imposed on mainstream media during Donald Trump’s presidency. “Those who talk about this supposed freedom of speech are the people who ban journalists from the Oval Office. I don’t accept that,” he said.
Owens, who has established links with US far-right groups, “knew very well that she was using false news to cause damage, in the service of an ideology,” Macron argued.
