Far-right podcaster Candace Owens has escalated her baseless conspiracy campaign against French First Lady Brigitte Macron by predicting the 72-year-old would stage her own death to avoid the discovery phase of a defamation lawsuit filed against the American provocateur last week.
During her Monday podcast episode, Owens floated the extraordinary claim that Brigitte Macron would be “fake killed” before the case reached depositions, asserting without evidence that this hypothetical staged death would shut down all discussion “about her being a man anymore”.
The bizarre prediction came just days after the Macrons filed a 219-page defamation complaint in Delaware Superior Court, seeking punitive damages over what they describe as a “relentless and unjustified smear campaign” that has subjected them to “bullying on a worldwide scale”.
Doubling Down on Debunked Claims
Despite mounting legal pressure, Owens has refused to retract her demonstrably false allegations that Brigitte Macron was “born a man” and secretly transitioned decades ago. The 38-year-old commentator has promoted this debunked conspiracy theory through an eight-part podcast series titled “Becoming Brigitte”, which has garnered over 16 million views on YouTube.
“I think they’ll fake kill Brigitte first,” Owens told her audience on Monday. “They’ll be like, ‘Oh, Brigitte passed away from stress because of what Candace did. Oh, nobody can talk about her being a man anymore because Brigitte’s gone.'”
When pressed on whether she genuinely believed this scenario would unfold, Owens admitted she had no evidence for her prediction. “I don’t know, but that’s my instinct anyway,” she conceded.
The podcaster assured viewers she didn’t need financial assistance yet, claiming the lawsuit would ultimately “fade away” rather than proceed through the courts. “Right now, we do not really need the money,” she said in response to viewer questions about potential crowdfunding. “It’s very early on.”
‘Campaign of Global Humiliation’
The Macrons’ lawsuit alleges Owens has engaged in a calculated effort to spread false claims for profit and fame, targeting a “frenzied fan base” with increasingly outlandish allegations. The 22-count complaint details how Owens has “dissected their appearance, their marriage, their friends, their family, and their personal history — twisting it all into a grotesque narrative designed to inflame and degrade”.
According to the legal filing, Owens has not only falsely claimed that Brigitte Macron is transgender but has also alleged that she statutorily raped a young Emmanuel Macron, that the couple are blood relatives engaged in incest, and that Emmanuel was installed as president through a CIA mind-control programme.
The complaint includes extensive documentation refuting these claims, including photographs of a young Brigitte, contemporaneous newspaper announcements of her birth, and records showing she gave birth to three children with her first husband.
First Amendment Defence Claimed
Owens has framed the lawsuit as an attack on her constitutional rights, with her spokesperson declaring: “This is a foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist. Candace repeatedly requested an interview with Brigitte Macron. Instead of offering a comment, Brigitte is resorting to trying to bully a reporter into submission.”
The podcaster had previously stated she would “stake my entire professional reputation on” her false claims about Brigitte Macron. When the lawsuit was filed, she responded by calling the French First Lady “the first lady man” and proclaiming: “I am fully prepared to take on this battle. On behalf of the entire world, I will see you in court.”
Legal experts note that as public figures, the Macrons face a high burden of proof in US defamation cases, needing to demonstrate “actual malice” – that Owens knowingly published false statements or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
Pattern of Targeting Powerful Women
Owens’ conspiracy theory represents part of a broader trend of “transvestigations” – baseless allegations questioning the gender of prominent women, particularly those who are politically left-leaning or break traditional gender stereotypes. Similar false claims have targeted former US First Lady Michelle Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Professor Michael Mark Cohen of the University of California, Berkeley, noted that such women are “likely targeted because their talents, achievements and ambition break stereotypical gender norms”.
The conspiracy theory about Brigitte Macron first emerged in 2021 and was later promoted by two French influencers who were found liable for libel by a French court last September. While an appeals court overturned the convictions earlier this month, it did not dispute the falsity of the claims.
Financial Motivations Alleged
The lawsuit alleges Owens has clear financial incentives for promoting the conspiracy theory, noting she has sold merchandise featuring Brigitte Macron’s face under a fake Time “Man of the Year” banner. Since launching her independent podcast after being fired from The Daily Wire in March 2024, Owens has increasingly focused on sensationalist content including celebrity gossip and conspiracy theories.
Despite the controversy – or perhaps because of it – Owens claimed to have seen “an uptick in donations” following news of the lawsuit. The eight episodes of her “Becoming Brigitte” series, some of which are monetised, have proven particularly successful in driving engagement.
Macrons Seek Substantial Damages
Tom Clare, the Macrons’ lead counsel from the law firm Clare Locke – which previously represented Dominion Voting Systems in its successful defamation case against Fox News – warned that if Owens continues to double down on her claims, “it’ll be a substantial award”.
“What people forget is these are human beings, these are a married couple,” Clare told CNN. “They have a social life, they have a private life together, they have the same feelings and the same hurt from these sorts of defamatory statements as anybody would.”
The lawsuit states: “Every time the Macrons leave their home, they do so knowing that countless people have heard, and many believe, these vile fabrications. It is invasive, dehumanising, and deeply unjust.”
French President Emmanuel Macron had previously addressed the rumours at a Paris event in March 2024, calling false information and fabricated stories “the worst part of being a president” because “people end up believing them, and it disrupts your life, even in your most private moments”.
As the legal battle unfolds, Owens’ prediction of a staged death appears to be yet another escalation in what the Macrons describe as a campaign designed to “harass and cause pain”. Whether her latest claims will factor into the defamation proceedings remains to be seen.
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