Overview

• The Macrons filed a 22-count defamation suit in Delaware Superior Court on July 23 accusing Owens of maliciously spreading false claims that Brigitte Macron was born male and involved in a CIA-backed mind-control scheme.
• Owens has vowed to fight the lawsuit, declaring she is prepared to “take on this battle on behalf of the entire world” and will “see you in court.”
• On CNN’s Table for Five, data analyst Harry Enten labeled Owens’s claims “one of the dumbest arguments” he’d ever heard and called her “stupid” and “disgusting.”
• Panelist Jemele Hill said Owens must prove she acted without intentional malice and questioned how she expects to meet the high actual malice standard under U.S. defamation law.
• The case underscores tensions between U.S. First Amendment protections and French libel rules as Brigitte Macron continues her appeal in France’s highest court.