❓WHAT HAPPENED: Brigitte Macron, the 72-year-old wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, is pursuing a defamation case against American commentator Candace Owens over claims that she was born a man.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Brigitte Macron, Emmanuel Macron, Candace Owens, and the Macrons’ attorney, Tom Clare.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The lawsuit was filed on July 23, 2025, in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware.
💬KEY QUOTE: “It is a process that she will have to subject herself to in a very public way… she is firmly resolved to do what it takes to set the record straight.” — Tom Clare
🎯IMPACT: The case raises questions about free speech, digital misinformation, and international jurisdiction in U.S. courts.
France’s First Lady, Brigitte Macron, plans to present a Delaware Superior Court with scientific and photographic evidence proving that she is a biological female as part of a defamation lawsuit filed against commentator Candace Owens. Filed in July, the lawsuit comes in response to numerous claims made by Owens that the 72-year-old was born a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux.
Tom Clare, an attorney representing Brigitte Macron and French President Emmanuel Macron, whom Brigitte began dating when he was 15 and she was 39, says the legal team will be submitting “expert testimony that will come out that will be scientific in nature,” and that they will also prove “genetically” that the allegations made by Owens are false. “It is a process that she will have to subject herself to in a very public way… she is firmly resolved to do what it takes to set the record straight,” he said.
The attorney added that images of Brigitte Macron pregnant and raising her children would also be presented in court.
Meanwhile, Owens has pushed back against the lawsuit, with her legal team arguing that it is a politically motivated attempt to suppress free speech. They described the case as a “baseless defamation suit” and a violation of U.S. constitutional protections for journalists.
The lawsuit, filed in Delaware, accuses Owens of promoting a “campaign of global humiliation” through her podcast and social media posts. Owens had previously stated she would “stake [her] entire professional reputation” on her claims about the French First Lady.
Owens’s legal team has filed motions to dismiss the case, citing jurisdictional and procedural challenges. Under U.S. defamation law, if the person allegedly defamed is considered a public figure, they must demonstrate that the person who made the false statement acted with “actual malice.” This legal standard requires proving that the defamer either knew the statement was false or had a reckless disregard for whether it was true or false.
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