Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have filed a defamation lawsuit against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who claims that France’s first lady was born male. The suit, filed Wednesday in the US state of Delaware, said Owens has been spreading ‘outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions.’ Owens has regularly repeated the claims on her popular podcast and social media channels, and in March 2024 stated that she would stake her ‘entire professional reputation’ on her belief that Mrs Macron ‘is in fact a man.’ The BBC contacted Owens for comment. A conspiracy theory which has circulated for years in fringe online spaces alleges Mrs Macron was born male under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which belongs to her brother.” (07/23/25)