Candace Owens sued in her home state over 'outlandish' claims

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter Monday, November 09, 2026

Candace Owens is now facing a defamation lawsuit in her home state of Tennessee from French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, the latest development in the legal case brought against the podcaster after she repeatedly and publicly claimed the French first lady was born male. 

The lawsuit, filed last Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, highlighted what the Macrons’ legal team described as Owens’ “outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions” about the French president and his wife.

“Mrs. Owens was adamant that Tennessee is where this case belongs because it’s where she lives,” the legal counsel for the Macrons told The Christian Post. “With this filing, we are giving her exactly what she has repeatedly demanded. We look forward to holding her personally accountable for the defamatory lies she continues to promote and monetize.”

According to the complaint, the media personality and host of the “Candace” podcast declared in March 2024 that she “would stake [her] entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron [the First Lady of France] is in fact a man.”

“Since then, Owens has used this false statement to promote her independent platform, gain notoriety, and make money. Owens disregarded all credible evidence disproving her claim in favor of platforming known conspiracy theorists and proven defamers,” the legal filing continued.

“And rather than engage with President and Mrs. Macron’s attempts to set the record straight, Owens mocked them and used them as additional fodder for her frenzied fan base,” the complaint added.

The latest lawsuit comes after Delaware Superior Court Judge Sheldon K. Rennie ruled last month that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over Owens, who lives in Tennessee. That means the court lacked legal power over the podcaster.

In a Monday X post, Owens confirmed that the Macrons have sued her in Tennessee, sarcastically commenting that “they want justice over my Brigitte-Doll.”

“Those of you who are fans of the show know that Brigitte-Doll has never pursued the limelight. For her to be called ‘grotesque’ by the French couple is hurtful, to say the least. The bleach incident referenced in the filing was a traumatizing incident, which occurred during a polar vortex in Tennessee,” the podcaster wrote.

“Brigitte-Doll will be making no further statements at this time,” she added.

The Macrons’ lawsuit described the doll that Owens held up during episode 284 of her podcast as “an alien-like figure reminiscent of the film character E.T.,” asserting that Owens used the doll to mock Brigitte Macron’s appearance.

On Jan. 5, Owens showed off the doll on her podcast and said that “it’s just very sweet that France is selling Brigitte dolls,” the suit noted.

Last month, the podcast host told her audience that someone broke into her studio and threw bleach on the doll, which she said was “an LGBTQ hate crime. Because, you know, Jean-Michel Trogneux is gay.”

The legal filing argued that the doll and Owens’ description of the bleach incident as an “LGBTQ hate crime” confirm “that her campaign against Mrs. Macron is driven by animus toward Mrs. Macron’s perceived gender identity, gender, and sexuality.”

The Macrons first sued Owens and her two media companies in July 2025 in Delaware, accusing her of spreading lies about the couple to boost her viewership.

After the first lawsuit, the Macrons and their legal team allege that Owens “unequivocally doubled down” on her remarks about the Macrons, including the claim that Brigitte Macron was born male and stole someone else’s identity.

In September 2025, Owens launched a new season of her “Becoming Brigitte” podcast series and alleged that Brigitte Macron took part in the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment. Owens claimed it was linked to the French first lady’s supposed “transition.”

“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,” the Nov. 4 complaint argued.