French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have filed a defamation lawsuit in the United States against right-wing podcaster Candace Owens, targeting the false claim that Brigitte Macron was born a man. The lawsuit, announced this week, describes the allegations as 'verifiably false and devastating lies' that have led to a 'campaign of global humiliation'.
The conspiracy theory, which originated in France in 2021, asserts that Brigitte Macron, 72, was born as Jean-Michel Trogneux. The Macrons' legal action states that Trogneux is in fact Brigitte's older brother, who attended Emmanuel Macron's presidential inaugurations in 2017 and 2022. Owens, whose podcast reaches millions, has defended her promotion of the narrative.
The rumour first gained traction during a period of heightened distrust in French institutions, following the 'gilets jaunes' protests and the Covid-19 pandemic. In December 2021, a YouTube interview featuring Natacha Rey, who claimed to have investigated the first lady's background, garnered 500,000 views within hours. The hashtag #Jean-MichelTrogneux trended on social media, boosted by far-right and anti-vaccine accounts.
Journalist Emmanuelle Anizon, who investigated the rumour for her book 'L’Affaire Madame', noted that the case highlights a broader societal issue of mistrust in political and media institutions. 'This is now one of the biggest fake news stories worldwide in terms of popularity – a billion people have seen it,' she said.
The Macrons' relationship has long been a subject of online scrutiny due to their 24-year age gap. They met when Brigitte was a teacher at Emmanuel's school in Amiens, and they married in 2007. The lawsuit emphasises that their teacher-student relationship 'remained within the bounds of the law'. Brigitte Macron and her brother previously filed a defamation complaint in France in 2022.
