Key facts
- The Macrons' legal team says the 409-page Tennessee complaint documents what it describes as fabricated claims by Owens.
- The complaint alleges financial and ideological motives behind Owens' podcast work about the Macrons.
- The complaint says Owens used her podcast to repeat claims about the Macrons, sell merchandise mocking them and collect donations.
- A representative for Owens did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, filed a defamation lawsuit against podcaster Candace Owens in Tennessee, the state where Owens lives, according to a complaint dated November 4. A representative for the Macrons' legal team confirmed the complaint was authentic on Monday after it appeared on legal databases.
The suit follows a Delaware action the couple filed in July 2025 against Owens and her two media companies, registered in that state. A Delaware court last month narrowed that complaint, ruling it had jurisdiction only over Owens' corporations there.
In the Tennessee complaint, the Macrons' legal team says it further documents what it describes as "outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions" published by Owens. The 409-page document alleges financial and ideological motives behind her work. "She has continued to use her podcast to expand her lies about the Macrons, sell merchandise making fun of the Macrons, and collect donations based on her 'reporting' on the Macrons," the complaint reads.
The case stems from claims Owens made on multiple episodes of her podcast "Candace" that Brigitte Macron is a transgender man. A representative for Owens did not immediately reply to a request for comment.