Why the French First Lady is heading to court

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, are preparing to present scientific and photographic evidence in a US court to refute claims circulated by American right-wing influencer Candace Owens.

The couple has launched a defamation lawsuit in Delaware against Owens, who has repeatedly alleged that Brigitte was born male under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux—the name of her actual brother—and transitioned in adulthood.

Their attorney, Tom Clare, told the BBC’s Fame Under Fire podcast that Brigitte Macron is ready to provide proof both “generically and specifically” to put an end to what he called a campaign of “outlandish” lies.

The nature of the evidence

Clare confirmed that the evidence would include scientific testimony and family photographs, including images of Brigitte pregnant and raising her children. These materials would be shown in court, not released publicly, to comply with legal standards.

“It is incredibly upsetting to think that you have to go and subject yourself, to put this type of proof forward,” Clare said, acknowledging the toll on the French First Lady.

Despite the deeply personal nature of the process, Clare added, Brigitte Macron is determined to go through with it to “set the record straight.”

How the conspiracy theory began

The allegations against Brigitte Macron first surfaced in September 2021 in the French far-right magazine Faits et Documents. They gained traction after far-right blogger Natacha Rey and clairvoyant Amandine Roy repeated them in a YouTube interview later that year, which went viral.

Key false claims include:

• That Brigitte Macron is actually her older brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux.
• That she did not give birth to her three children.
• That her first husband never existed.

While the Macrons initially won a defamation case against Roy and Rey in 2024, the ruling was overturned on appeal this year on freedom of expression grounds. That case is still under appeal.

Owens amplified these claims to her millions of followers in 2024, vowing to “wage her entire professional reputation” on the theory. She has since repeated the allegations across her social media platforms.

The Macrons’ lawsuit against Owens

The French presidential couple filed a 218-page lawsuit in July 2025, seeking damages for what they describe as a campaign of global humiliation and harassment.

In their legal filing, they accused Owens of systematically reaffirming falsehoods despite repeated requests to retract them.

“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 Macrons said in a joint statement.

Owens’s lawyers have filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that her statements were based on reporting by Rey and protected under free speech.

Why this matters

The case highlights the global reach of misinformation and the difficulty of combating viral conspiracy theories once they take root. It also underscores the personal toll such rumors can take, even on prominent public divs.

For the Macrons, the lawsuit is as much about personal vindication as it is about accountability. By offering evidence as intimate as pregnancy photos, they are signaling a willingness to confront disinformation head-on in a courtroom, no matter how invasive the process may be.

Whether the case succeeds could have broader implications for how far courts—especially in the US—are willing to go in balancing free speech protections against reputational harm in the age of viral conspiracies.

TL;DR

Brigitte Macron, France’s First Lady, will present scientific and photographic evidence in a US court to disprove conspiracy theories promoted by Candace Owens claiming she was born male. The Macrons have filed a defamation lawsuit in Delaware, calling Owens’s repeated claims a campaign of harassment and humiliation. The case could test the limits of free speech versus defamation in the digital age.