French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte are suing Candace Owens for defamation after the right-wing podcaster promoted several conspiracy theories about the French first couple, including that the French first lady was born a male.
The complaint filed in Delaware Superior Court seeks an unspecified amount of damages from Owens, who broadcast an eight-part series spreading bizarre allegations about the Macrons, including that Brigitte Macron was born a man, stole another person’s identity and transitioned to a woman, according to CBS News.
Owens also alleged that the Macrons are blood relatives committing incest, President Macron was chosen to be the President of France as part of the CIA-operated MKUltra program or a similar mind-control program and that the Macrons are committing forgery, fraud, and abuses of power to conceal these secrets.
“These claims are demonstrably false, and Owens knew they were false when she published them. Yet, she published them anyway,” the lawsuit reads. “And the reason is clear: it is not the pursuit of truth, but the pursuit of fame.”
The French first couple said in a statement that they decided to sue Owens after she doubled down on the lies despite their lawyers’ repeated requests to retract the falsehoods.
“Ms. Owens’ campaign of defamation was plainly designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families and to garner attention and notoriety,” they said. “We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused. It is our earnest hope that this lawsuit will set the record straight and end this campaign of defamation once and for all.”
