Conservative commentator Candace Owens has responded defiantly to a defamation lawsuit filed by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, calling the legal action a “desperate public relations strategy.”
Owens rejected the claims against her and declared she would not retract statements suggesting Brigitte Macron was born male, framing the lawsuit as an attack on freedom of speech.
In a statement released on her show and social media platforms, Owens insisted she would “not be silenced,” adding, “This is an obvious attempt by political elites to shut down dissent and criminalize opinion. I’m not shutting up.” Her spokesperson emphasized that Owens believes she is protected under the First Amendment and will challenge the lawsuit in court.
The Macrons filed the lawsuit in the U.S. state of Delaware on Wednesday, accusing Owens of spreading a conspiracy theory that Brigitte Macron was assigned male at birth and concealed this from the public.
The complaint includes 22 counts of defamation and points to Owens’ eight-part podcast series titled Becoming Brigitte, which allegedly amplified the false claims alongside a viral YouTube video and multiple posts on social media.
According to the lawsuit, Owens began promoting the story in March 2024 and ignored multiple warnings, including official documentation and family photographs that clearly establish Brigitte Macron’s birth identity.
The Macrons argue that Owens’ actions were deliberate and malicious, designed to boost her platform’s visibility and generate income through related merchandise, including a “Man of the Year” T-shirt bearing Brigitte’s image.
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The legal filing, prepared by the defamation law firm Clare Locke, claims that Owens continued spreading “outrageous lies” even after being served formal takedown requests.
Among the additional allegations Owens is said to have promoted are claims of incest between the Macrons, suggestions that Emmanuel Macron was placed in office via CIA mind control experiments, and accusations of fraud and abuse of power.
The Macrons are demanding a jury trial and unspecified punitive damages. Their legal team argues that Owens’ broadcasts crossed a line from protected opinion into reputational harm, given the repeated nature of the claims and refusal to correct or retract them despite being disproven.
This is not the first time Brigitte Macron has faced such allegations. In 2021, she filed a similar defamation case in France against two women who circulated comparable conspiracy theories.
While a French court initially ruled in her favor, the judgment was overturned on appeal earlier this month, prompting Brigitte to escalate the case to France’s Court of Cassation.
Owens has used her platform to question the legitimacy of the Macrons’ legal efforts, saying, “The truth has nothing to fear from inquiry. Why are they so afraid of questions?”
Legal experts say the case could test the boundaries of defamation law, international reputation, and free speech protections in the digital age.
The lawsuit adds to a growing trend of global political figures pursuing defamation claims against social media personalities whose content reaches international audiences, sometimes with damaging consequences.
Time
