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French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Bridget filed a honour-loss lawsuit against Cander Owens, a right-wing influencer who alleges that the French First Lady was born male.
The legal action filed Wednesday in Delaware, the US, said Owens is spreading “quirky, defamous and distant fiction.”
Owens regularly repeats claims on popular podcasts and social media channels, saying in March 2024 Mrs Macron would bet “a whole professional reputation” on her belief that she is “actually a man.”
In an episode of her podcast released Wednesday, Owens confronted her allegations and described the lawsuit as “this is goofy.”
Owens defeated the French First Lady, saying that she was sued by her as an “obvious and hopeless public relations strategy.”
A long-standing theory of conspiracy circulating in the Fringe Online Space claims that Madame Macron was born in the name of Jean Michel Trogleux, who belongs to her brother.
Owens spread conspiracy theories to viewers, including nearly 7 million followers of X.
Macron repeatedly asked Owens to retract in a statement released by his lawyers, but said, “In the end, he concluded that referring the matter to court was the only remaining path to the remedy.”
“Owens’s campaign for honor and loss was clearly designed to cause harassment and pain to us and our families, and to gain attention and notoriety,” the statement said.
“We gave her the opportunity to move away from these claims, but she refused.”
The lawsuit alleges that Owens “advocated all credible evidence disproves her claims in favor of known conspiracy theorists and proven honorary amers on known platforms.”
He also accused Owens of falsely claiming that the French president and his wife are relatives and that Emmanuel Macron was inaugurated by a secret CIA plot.
Before launching his independent podcast in 2024, Owens worked for conservative organizations such as Turning Point for Student Groups and Media Outlet Daily Wire.
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Owens has worked for many conservative media and organizations.
She has since spreading rumors and suggested that the plot is behind things like the Covid vaccine, the Holocaust, and the moon landing.
The lawsuit also names her Delaware-based company and seeks unspecified damages.
Under US law, Macron must prove “actual malicious.” This means that the defendant knew the information was false, but would be published or broadcast anyway.
In September, a French court recognized two women who lost their honor for spreading false claims about Bridget Macron, according to local media, but the decision was overturned earlier this month.
Owens is married to George Farmer, a British-American entrepreneur and fellow lords who distanced himself from his daughter-in-law’s views and son of former Conservative Treasurer Michael Farmer.
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