French President Emmanuel Macron and his spouse, Brigitte, have filed a defamation lawsuit in the US towards right-wing commentator Candace Owens over what they describe as “verifiably false and devastating lies” concerning the French first woman.
The 218-page grievance, lodged on Wednesday in Delaware Superior Court docket, seeks a jury trial and unspecified punitive damages.
The authorized motion follows Owens’s publication of an eight-part podcast and YouTube sequence titled Changing into Brigitte, wherein she alleges that Brigitte Macron was born male and had transitioned, stolen one other particular person’s identification, and is engaged in an incestuous relationship along with her husband.
Attorneys for the Macrons stated in a press release that the lawsuit was filed after repeated requests for Owens to retract the claims have been ignored. The couple stated the allegations had induced them critical hurt and have been rooted in deliberate falsehoods.
The authorized submitting additionally addresses the circumstances of the couple’s relationship, which started when Brigitte was a trainer and Emmanuel Macron a pupil. It emphasises that their relationship has at all times remained inside authorized bounds.
Owens, who has a big following on social media platforms X (previously Twitter) and YouTube, responded on her podcast, dismissing the swimsuit as “suffering from factual inaccuracies” and a “determined public relations technique”. She stated she had no prior information that the lawsuit was imminent, although authorized representatives for each events have reportedly been in touch since January.
A spokesperson for Owens accused the Macrons of attempting to “bully” her into silence, claiming Brigitte had refused a number of interview requests.
The lawsuit is likely one of the uncommon situations wherein a sitting world chief and their partner have pursued defamation claims within the US. It comes amid a broader development of high-profile figures turning to the courts to problem damaging media content material.
Former US President Donald Trump can be at the moment suing The Wall Road Journal for $10 billion, alleging defamation over its reporting of a 2003 birthday video involving Jeffrey Epstein. Trump additionally lately settled one other case with ABC, reportedly price $15 million, over incorrect claims a couple of civil jury verdict associated to sexual misconduct.
Beneath US legislation, defamation fits by public figures are notoriously troublesome to win. Plaintiffs should show “precise malice”—that the writer both knowingly unfold false data or acted with reckless disregard for the reality.
Authorized consultants say the Macrons face an uphill authorized battle, however their motion alerts a rising willingness by public figures to confront what they see as damaging disinformation within the digital age.
