(AFP) – A US judge has pared down a defamation lawsuit that France’s president and his wife brought against a conservative US influencer last year, US media reported on Wednesday. Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte had filed a lawsuit in July 2025 against right-wing podcaster Candace Owens and two companies, accusing her of helping fan online rumors about whether the French president’s wife is a transgender woman.
Owens is an influencer with a huge following on social media platforms. She has claimed that Brigitte Macron, whose gender has been the subject of conspiracy theories in France for years, was a man. In a ruling issued on Tuesday, Delaware Superior Court Judge Sheldon Rennie said Owens could not be held personally liable in the case, but allowed the suit against two companies associated with her — Candace Owens LLC and GeorgeTom Inc. — to continue for now, US media including The New York Times and Forbes reported.
Rennie said the Delaware court did not hold jurisdiction over Owens because her residence was in another state, Tennessee. The ruling means that if the French first couple were to eventually win in the case, Owens’ personal assets would be shielded. “I am in the absolute best mood over this Macron dismissal,” Owens said on X on Wednesday.
The judge also said that France’s statute of limitations would apply in the case: normally three months in defamation cases, with a possible extension of up to one year in special cases. Brigitte Macron, 72, has also taken to the courts in France to combat claims she was born a man. Two women were convicted in September 2024 of spreading false claims after they posted a YouTube video in December 2021 alleging that Brigitte Macron had once been a man named Jean-Michel Trogneux — who is actually her brother.
© 2024 AFP
