French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to fight “to the end” to defend both his honour and that of his wife, First Lady Brigitte Macron, against false claims that she was born a man.
Since 2017, Brigitte Macron has been targeted by rumours about her sexual identity.
Enraged by this apparently false news, which is damaging both her reputation and her private life, the French President said he intends to pursue the legal proceedings he has initiated with his wife “to the end”.
The Macrons launched a defamation lawsuit against US Republican podcaster Candace Owens in July.
For President Macron, the lawsuit was about more than legal action; it was about defending his honour.
In an interview with French people magazine Paris Match on August 21, he stated: “It’s about defending my honour! Because this is nonsense.
“It’s someone who knew very well that she had false information and spread it to harm, in the service of an ideology and with established connections to far-right leaders.”
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have launched a defamation lawsuit against US podcaster and right-wing political commentator Candace Owens. https://t.co/29GSx4aJx4
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 24, 2025
In that interview, he also explained why the couple decided to sue Owens.
In multiple online videos and in a book called Becoming Brigitte, Owens alleged that Brigitte Macron was born a man.
In the book, she also made unfounded allegations of paedophilia and incest against the Macron couple.
The French President said: “There was a tradition of saying: Let it slide. That’s what we did at first. In the beginning, it was in France. We were advised not to file a complaint.
“That could have triggered a ‘Streisand effect;, drawing even more attention to these lies. But it escalated so much in the United States that we had to react,” she said.
He also stressed that the issue went beyond freedom of speech.
“This is about upholding the truth. We are talking about the civil status of the First Lady of France, a wife, a mother, a grandmother. Wanting to prevent the truth from being restored is not freedom of speech” he said.
“Those who talk to you about this so-called freedom of speech are the same people who bar journalists from the Oval Office. I do not accept that,” he added.
