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Macrons file second defamation lawsuit against Candace Owens

French presidential couple accuses US podcaster of profiting from false claims about Brigitte Macron's identity.

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
France's President Emmanuel Macron (R) and his wife Brigitte Macron have fought false claims about her gender identity for years. © Abdul Saboor, POOL/AFP/File

What this story says

  • French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have filed a second defamation lawsuit against US podcaster Candace Owens.
  • The lawsuit, filed in Tennessee, accuses Owens of spreading false claims that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman and profiting from these allegations.
  • This action follows an earlier lawsuit filed in Delaware in 2025, where proceedings against Owens' companies are ongoing.
  • The Macrons allege Owens has continued to promote these claims and sell merchandise based on them, causing significant damage and humiliation.

Who covered it

Left 36%(12)Centre 49%(16)Right 15%(5)

Percentages are shares of the 33 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 27 of the 60 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

60/100

Craft

60/100

Hype

40/100

60 sources · methodology

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte have initiated a new defamation lawsuit in the United States against American podcaster Candace Owens. The legal action, filed in a federal court in Tennessee, accuses Owens of continuing to spread false claims about Brigitte Macron's gender and profiting from these allegations. This marks the second lawsuit filed by the Macrons against Owens over similar claims.

Disagreement on lawsuit details

Reports differ on the exact length and number of counts in the new lawsuit. France24 states the complaint is 401 pages long and mentions 88 counts related to Owens' podcast and X activity. Influenth reports a 409-page complaint with 88 leaders linked to Owens' podcast and X. Midilibre states the procedure is 400 pages and covers 88 cases.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated digests mention the specific details of the previous lawsuit in Delaware, including the judge's ruling on jurisdictional grounds for Owens as an individual. None of the right-rated digests mention the 411-page length of the complaint as reported by France24.

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 10 Nov 2026, 10:00, and will add the sides that appear.

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

12 rated outlets

  • Left-rated reports highlighted the nature of the claims as "infox transphobe" (Le Monde) and "transphobic" (Le Huffington Post). Several reports noted that the lawsuit was filed in Tennessee, where Owens resides (France24, IBTimes UK, Le Monde, La Presse). The Macrons' accusation that Owens has continued to spread lies and sell merchandise based on them was also a common point (France24, Le Huffington Post, Le Temps). France24 quoted the filing stating Owens' statements were "defamatory because they accuse the Macrons of lying to France and to the world, for decades, about who Mrs. Macron is, and of committing crimes to conceal that supposed lie."

Centre

16 rated outlets

  • Centre-rated reports focused on the filing of a new lawsuit and the specific accusations made. France24, which provided a full report, detailed that the lawsuit accuses Owens of "unequivocally" doubling down after the first lawsuit was filed and that she has "continued to use her podcast to expand her lies about the Macrons, sell merchandise making fun of the Macrons, and collect donations based on her 'reporting' on the Macrons." Several outlets noted the previous legal action in Delaware and its outcome, where a judge dismissed the case against Owens as an individual on jurisdictional grounds but allowed proceedings against her companies to continue (France24, Internewscast, TAG24, Hindustan Times, TF1 INFO, lindependant.fr, Sud Ouest).

Right

5 rated outlets

  • Right-rated reports identified Candace Owens as a "right-wing influencer" (Free Malaysia Today News) and "podcaster" (Iefimerida). They stated the core of the lawsuit involves claims that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman (Free Malaysia Today News, Iefimerida, Protothema, Tennessee Star). Protothema quoted the lawsuit stating Candace Owens "stated that she would 'bet her entire professional reputation on the fact that the First Lady of France is actually a man.'" Tennessee Star noted the lawsuit was filed in the Middle District of Tennessee.

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Macrons file second defamation lawsuit against Candace Owens?
Of the 33 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 36% are rated left, 49% are rated centre, 15% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 60. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Macrons file second defamation lawsuit against Candace Owens left or right?
Neither side dominates it. Of the 33 rated outlets on this story, 36% are rated left, 49% are rated centre, 15% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
Is the coverage of Macrons file second defamation lawsuit against Candace Owens biased?
Macrons file second defamation lawsuit against Candace Owens is one event reported by 60 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which outlets covered Macrons file second defamation lawsuit against Candace Owens?
60 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
Why have the Macrons filed a second lawsuit against Candace Owens?
The Macrons have filed a second defamation lawsuit because they allege Candace Owens has continued to spread false claims about Brigitte Macron's identity and has profited from these allegations through her podcast and merchandise, despite earlier legal action.
What are the specific claims made against Candace Owens?
The lawsuit accuses Candace Owens of spreading false claims that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman and profiting from these allegations. The Macrons state these claims are defamatory because they accuse the couple of lying about Brigitte Macron's identity for decades.
What was the outcome of the previous lawsuit filed in Delaware?
In the previous lawsuit filed in Delaware in 2025, a judge dismissed the case against Candace Owens as an individual on jurisdictional grounds. However, proceedings against her companies are permitted to continue.

Read it at the source

60 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

12
Show 4 more

Centre

16
Show 8 more

Right

5

Not rated

27
Show 19 more

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

Macrons sue Candace Owens | MediaBias News