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US Judge Narrows Macron Defamation Case Against Candace Owens
· Confirmed
In Short: A Delaware judge ruled that Candace Owens cannot be held personally liable in a defamation lawsuit brought by the Macrons.
In a ruling on Tuesday, Delaware Superior Court Judge Sheldon Rennie said Candace Owens could not be held personally liable in the defamation case brought by France's President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, but allowed the suit against two companies associated with her -- Candace Owens LLC and GeorgeTom Inc. -- to continue.
The Macrons filed a lawsuit in July 2025 against Owens and two Delaware-registered businesses, accusing her of making false claims that the French president's wife was born male and is a transgender woman.
Owens started a podcast series called 'Becoming Brigitte' in 2025, in which she made false claims about Mrs. Macron, including that she stole another person's identity and transitioned to female, and that the Macrons are blood relatives committing incest.
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.
Owens said the case represented 'one of the grossest legal overreaches by a foreign government leader in human history.' She added that the Macrons were attempting to 'personally bankrupt a single podcaster from outside the nation in which he governs.'
The Macrons' complaint alleged that Owens touted false claims and conspiracy theories against them 'to promote her independent platform, gain notoriety and make money.' The complaint added, 'The result is relentless bullying on a worldwide scale.'
The ruling means that if the Macrons were to eventually win in the case, Owens' personal assets would be shielded. However, the defamation case against the businesses could continue because they were registered in Delaware.
Brigitte Macron, 72, has also taken legal action 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.
In their lawsuit, the Macrons said the impact of Owens' false claims had extended to the entire family, including Macron's grandchildren.
The defamation case against Candace Owens and her companies is now focused on the legal implications of French defamation law and statutes of limitation intersecting with US law.
The judge deferred judgment on Owens' motion to dismiss the Macrons' litigation until the parties had briefed him further on these legal intersections.
What this adds
The ruling marks a significant setback for the Macrons in their defamation lawsuit against Candace Owens, as it shields Owens' personal assets from any potential judgment. The case now hinges on the legal complexities of applying French defamation law within the US legal framework.
Background
A Delaware judge ruled that Candace Owens cannot be held personally liable in a defamation lawsuit brought by the Macrons.
What's confirmed
- "This case represents one of the grossest legal overreaches by a foreign government leader in human history," she said.
- The article, written by Vincent Trémolet de Villers for the conservative newspaper Le Figaro and published Sunday afternoon local time, blamed years of political failures for contributing to the unrest and took particular aim at President Emmanuel Macron.
- "A judiciary that is lenient toward criminals but unrelenting toward decent citizens. The incomprehensible privilege of these far-left militias, who destroy, set fires, and kill with impunity," the article stated, according to a translation.
- "Emmanuel Macron’s reprimands toward a police force he deemed insufficiently 'empathetic' — directed at officers under attack by bolts, cobblestones, and mortar fireworks — will remain an indelible stain," it stated.
- "An uncontrolled immigration, in which a portion of the immigrants rebels against the country that took them in."
- "If the far-left, criminals, and looters can turn France upside down in a matter of hours, it is primarily because a technocratic monarchy — intoxicated by its own self-importance — has methodically dismantled all the moral, security, cultural, and economic safeguards that allow a society to remain standing."
- "… I hear what they are saying, for the past ten years I've been fighting for them, so we need to pay heed to what they are saying." Macron said he ordered officials to increase security around public buildings and businesses, with protests potentially restricted in some areas.
- It criticized what it described as a justice system that is "lenient toward criminals," accused far-left groups of carrying out violence with little consequence and took aim at France’s immigration and security policies.
- Macron addressed the nation Sunday, condemning the violence and vowing that those responsible would be held accountable.
What's still developing
- The spurious claims about Mrs Macron's gender first came from a 2021 'investigation' published in a small, far-Right magazine accused of platforming anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories, Faits et Documents (Facts & Documents).
- The article also took aim at Macron over his past calls for police to show greater empathy.
- “Nothing will excuse their actions. We all tonight feel angry. We feel shame as well,” Macron said, according to a translation of his televised remarks.
- “The youth of our nation are expressing great anguish and concern about the future, the conditions of where their careers will take them, what role they will be able to play in society,” Macron said.