French President and Wife in Deep Water
Brigitte Macron to Submit Evidence Refuting Claims About Her Gender
In a bid to disprove a persistent conspiracy theory, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, will provide photographic and scientific evidence in a US court to prove Brigitte is a woman.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, are preparing to present photographic and scientific evidence in a U.S. court to refute a long-running conspiracy theory that claims France's First Lady was born a man. The legal action is a defamation lawsuit filed against right-wing influencer Candace Owens, who has amplified the false claims to her millions of followers.
According to the Macrons’ lawyer, Tom Claire, who spoke on the BBC podcast "Fame Under Fire," the couple is ready to provide "expert testimony with scientific evidence" to fully disprove the allegations. Claire confirmed that they have photos of Brigitte as a pregnant woman and raising her children that will be submitted as proof. He stated that the claims have been "very disturbing" to Brigitte and have become a "distraction" for the president. Despite the highly public nature of the process, Claire said Brigitte is "100% prepared to bear that burden" to correct the public record.
The transphobic conspiracy theory, which has been circulating since Emmanuel Macron's 2017 election, was first promoted by two French women on YouTube. They claimed Brigitte was her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, who had undergone gender transition. While the Macrons and Brigitte’s brother successfully sued the women for defamation in a lower court, an appeals court later acquitted them. The family has appealed that ruling, and they are now pursuing legal action against Owens for amplifying the false narrative.
In a prior interview with Paris Match, President Macron explained his motivation for the lawsuit. He stated that the claims were "nonsense" and that his decision to sue was to "defend my honor." He accused those spreading the conspiracy of knowingly using false information to harm his family in service of an extremist ideology. This case follows a pattern of similar transphobic fake news campaigns targeting high-profile women, including former US First Lady Michelle Obama and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.