Influencer Candace Owens sued by Macrons for claiming France's first lady was born male

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have launched a high profile legal battle against US right-wing influencer Candace Owen, after they filed a defamation lawsuit against the commentator for claiming that France's first lady was born male.

The lawsuit, which was filed on Wednesday in Delaware, lambasted Owens for spreading what they described as "outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions", after she regularly made the claims on her podcast and social media channels.

In March 2024 specifically, she even categorically stated she would stake her "entire professional reputation" on her belief that Mrs Macron "is in fact a man".

The claims stem from a widespread conspiracy theory that has circulated for a number of years in online spaces which alleges Mrs Macron was actually born under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, the name of her brother.

Circulating this theory as if it were proven fact to her 7m followers on X, Owens even went as far as to release a video series entitled Becoming Brigitte, earlier this year which again continued to repeat the same claims.

In response to Owens' behaviour, the Macrons released a formal statement via their legal team, which states they have repeatedly asked for a retraction of the claims to be paid, but "ultimately concluded that referring the matter to a court of law was the only remaining avenue for remedy", after she failed to comply.

"Ms Owens' campaign of defamation was plainly designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families and to garner attention and notoriety," the statement said. "We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused."

In court papers filed on Wednesday, the lawsuit alleges that Owens "disregarded all credible evidence disproving her claim in favour of platforming known conspiracy theorists and proven defamers."

It also directly accuses Owens of falsely alleging that the French president and his wife are related by blood as well as slamming her claims that Emmanuel Macron was installed in office by a secret CIA plot.

Naming her Delaware-headquartered companies in the suit, the Macrons are seeking unspecified damages over the claims.

In order to be successful, under US law the Macrons will have to prove "actual malice" - meaning that the defendant knew the information was false, but published or broadcast it anyway.

Back in September 2024, two women in France were found guilty of libel after they made similar claims about Brigitte Macron, however the decision was later appealed and overturned in July this year.

Often a controversial and polarising voice in politics, Candace Owens has worked for numerous conservative organisations during her career, including for the student group Turning Point and media outlet Daily Wire, before she launched her independent podcast in 2024.

As well as her claims about the Macrons, she has also spread rumours about numerous other topics too, including several conspiracies relating to Covid vaccines, the moon landings, and even the Holocaust.

In her personal life, she is married to George Farmer, a British-American entrepreneur and the son of Baron Michael Farmer, a House of Lords peer and former Conservative Party treasurer.