I knew and worked with Candace Owens early in her career, and thought highly of her. She is tremendously talented, and in those days was cordial and eager to learn. Maybe she still is, but Candace has left behind one association after another–Turning Point USA, Prager U, the Daily Wire–and now, wholly independent but with millions of followers, she seems to have gone off the deep end. She has largely forsaken mainstream political commentary for social controversies and conspiracy theories.
For some time, one of Candace’s pet theories has been that Brigitte Macron, the wife of France’s President, was born a man, has transitioned to being a woman, or perhaps is still a man. Candace claims that Mrs. Macron has faked her own history, has not in fact given birth to three children, and has assumed someone else’s (male) identity. Owens has persisted in these claims, elaborating on them in numerous podcasts and other venues, despite repeated denials from the Macrons and despite their winning a defamation case in France against someone who made similar claims there.
Now, Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron have sued Candace Owens and two of her entities for defamation. The case is venued in state court in Delaware. You can read the complaint here. It is more than 200 pages long and comprises more than 20 specific defamation counts.
As they must, the Macrons allege that Owens made false claims about them, while knowing that they were false. Reading the allegations of the complaint, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that what the Macrons say is true. The relationship between Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron is certainly unorthodox, but she is, and always has been, a woman. She has three children. Contrary to the assertions of Owens and others, there is nothing particularly mysterious about her birth, her childhood, or her life so far.
As alleged in the complaint, the Macrons have gone to extraordinary lengths to communicate with Owens and convince her that her various claims are untrue. Owens has basically failed to respond. I am frankly surprised that they went to so much trouble, but they say Candace’s false claims have damaged them:
These lies have caused tremendous damage to the Macrons. Defendants have subjected the Macrons to a campaign of global humiliation, turning their lives into fodder for profit-driven lies. 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. The result is relentless bullying on a worldwide scale. 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, dehumanizing, and deeply unjust.
Some of Owens’ claims are bizarre:
Towards the end of Episode 2, Owens turned her gaze towards President Macron to begin seeding her eventual claim that he is a product of MKUltra or a similar government mind control program. MKUltra was a secret CIA program that conducted human experiments to develop mind control techniques using drugs, psychological manipulation, and torture.
I seriously doubt that this assertion, or the other allegations Owens has made against the Macrons, are true.
This is also strange:
She then escalated her rhetoric, falsely alleging that the Macrons are part of “a very small group of elite oligarchs who routinely practice homosexuality and pedophilia, believe in Baphomet, and worship a transgender deity” that controls the world. This is yet another baseless, inherently implausible claim—contradicted by public evidence and common sense.
What is it with pedophilia? Wasn’t that the QAnon theory? And now we are seeing it again in connection with Jeffrey Epstein. There are pedophiles in the world, but the idea that a large number of world leaders or financial elites are part of that perverted group lacks, as far as I know, any evidentiary support whatsoever.
Owens has been insouciant about being sued by the Macrons. I suppose the case will drag on for years, and will drive Candace’s social media audience even higher. The day of reckoning will come; my guess is that someday, probably around two years from now, a jury will award the Macrons quite a bit of money. But that will not be the end of the legal road, and whether a jury’s verdict will do anything to quiet baseless speculation about Brigitte Macron is doubtful.
