Macrons’ Suit Against Candace Owens Over Transgender Claim Sparks a New Falsehood
By Charlene Lin
What happened: In the wake of a defamation suit by the French first couple against conservative commentator Candace Owens over her claim that Brigitte Macron was born a man, some French social media users are falsely alleging that the litigation is being funded by taxpayers.
Context: On July 23, Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron filed a defamation suit in Delaware Superior Court against Owens, a popular podcaster, for claiming that Brigitte Macron was born a man and is transgender. The Macrons’ attorney, Tom Clare, said that Owens has spread false information about Brigitte Macron’s gender for nearly a year, despite repeated demands from the Macrons to stop doing so,
Two days after the suit was filed, Owens doubled down, stating on X, “If you have to file a lawsuit in a foreign country to prove to the world that you are a woman, it is because you most certainly are not one.”
A closer look: Soon after the defamation suit was announced, conservative social media users claimed that French taxpayers would be funding the litigation.
For example, French X user @Carene1984, who often shares content critical of the French government, stated: “The complaint is 218 pages long, an extremely rare legal action, costing a crazy amount of money. Who pays for it? French taxpayers😱” The post amassed 169,000 views and 2,000 likes in a day.
Actually: The claim that the Macrons’ suit will be funded with taxpayer money is baseless.
“No French taxpayer dollars are being spent on this lawsuit,” a spokesperson for the Macrons told NewsGuard in a July 24, 2025, email.
NewsGuard found no credible news reports that French public funds would be used for this suit, which was filed in the names of Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron, not on behalf of the French presidency.
More context: The false narrative that Brigitte Macron is transgender has been a favorite among conspiracy theorists and has even been exploited by Russian propaganda campaigns.
Earlier this month, Russia’s influence operation Storm-1516 released a fabricated video claiming that a surgeon, François Faivre, was found dead after he promised journalists that he would provide proof that Macron underwent gender-transition surgery. However, there is no evidence that a surgeon named François Faivre died, let alone that he ever existed. (See Reality Check’s report on the Russian campaign here.)
Natalie Huet contributed reporting.
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