Overview

• Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron filed a 22-count defamation suit in Delaware this month alleging Candace Owens knowingly spread the false claim that Brigitte was born male to boost her platform.
• The lawsuit describes a “global humiliation campaign” against the presidential couple as invasive, dehumanizing and deeply unfair, and seeks unspecified damages.
• Under U.S. law public figures must prove actual malice, meaning Owens knew the statements were false or recklessly ignored their veracity.
• Owens, who has over 4.4 million YouTube subscribers and nearly 7 million followers on X, confirmed the lawsuit on her channel and has vowed to defend her claims in court.
• Brigitte Macron has also appealed a French appellate acquittal of two YouTubers to the Court of Cassation in a parallel bid to counter trans-related conspiracy theories.