Tom Clare, lawyer for French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, stated on 18/9 that the family will provide photographic and scientific evidence to a US court. The defamation lawsuit is against Candace Owens, a prominent figure in the right-wing MAGA movement who has repeatedly claimed that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman.
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President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris on 8/6. Photo: AFP |
President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris on 8/6. Photo: AFP
According to the lawyer, 72-year-old Brigitte Macron is deeply saddened by Owens' defamatory actions and believes these false allegations are impacting President Macron's career.
"We are prepared to demonstrate that what she said about Brigitte Macron is false," Clare said, adding that it's difficult for Macron to have to prove this, but the French first lady is willing to do whatever it takes to reveal the truth. Clare confirmed that the Macrons will present photos of Brigitte during her pregnancies and raising her children to the court.
Owens, 36, a former journalist turned social media personality who promotes conspiracy theories, claimed last year that Brigitte is "actually a man" and has continuously spread this information on her podcast. According to Owens, Brigitte was born male, originally named Jean-Michel Trogneux, and later transitioned to live as a woman.
The Macrons filed the defamation lawsuit against Owens in July to protect their image, reputation, and financial interests. The lawsuit clarifies that Trogneux is Brigitte's brother, who lives in northern France and attended Macron's presidential inaugurations in 2017 and 2022.
Brigitte, 24 years older than Emmanuel Macron, was his high school teacher. She has three children and seven grandchildren from a previous marriage before marrying Macron in 2007.
The lawsuit also accuses Owens of falsely claiming that Macron and his wife are related and that Macron was installed as French president by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
"We are suing to defend my honor because this information is nonsense. It’s someone who knows this information is false but still disseminates it with the intention to cause harm," the French president stated last month.
In response to the lawsuit, Owens called it a "disastrous PR strategy" and advised Brigitte to "fire everyone around [her] who told [her] this was a good idea." "On behalf of the entire world, I will see you in court," she said.
Clare stated that the Macrons will appear in court. Under US law, they will have to prove that Owens knowingly and maliciously spread false information.
The conspiracy theory about Brigitte being transgender emerged on social media in 2021 and gained wider circulation after a YouTube video by two French bloggers, Amandine Roy and Natacha Rey.
The Macrons won a lawsuit against the two bloggers in France, but an appeals court later overturned the ruling, citing incompatibility with the legal definition of defamation. The Macron family has appealed the decision.
Hong Hanh (Telegraph)
