The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and his wife Brigitte sued American influencer Candace Owens for defamation.

Owens, known for spreading conspiracy theories on her podcast and social media, has repeatedly claimed that the French first lady was born male.

The Macrons' lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the US state of Delaware, alleges that Owens has been spreading "extravagant, defamatory, and wild fictions."

In March 2024, she declared that she was betting "her entire professional reputation" that Brigitte Macron "is in fact a man."

The lawsuit

"Owens has dissected their (Macrons') appearance, her marriage, her friendships, her family and her personal history, twisting it all into a grotesque narrative designed to inflame and degrade,” the lawsuit, reported by Reuters, said.

It added that the result has been “relentless harassment on a global scale.”

A conspiracy theory that has circulated for years on fringe internet forums holds that Brigitte Macron was born male under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is actually her brother’s name.

Owens has spread the theory to her large audience, which includes nearly 7 million followers on X.

Earlier this year, she published a video series titled Becoming Brigitte, which has more than 2.3 million views on YouTube.

Unfounded speculation about Brigitte Macron's gender began circulating in 2021 and has been addressed on several conservative-leaning channels, such as the well-known podcasts of Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan.

Owens Won't Retract

The Macrons said in a statement released by their lawyers that they repeatedly asked Owens for a retraction, but “ultimately concluded that going to court was the only available avenue for redress.”

“Owens’ smear campaign was clearly designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families, and to gain attention and notoriety,” the statement said.

It added: “We gave him every opportunity to retract these statements, but he refused.”

The lawsuit alleges that Owens “ignored all credible evidence disproving his claim, instead offering a platform to known conspiracy theorists and proven smearers.”

The BBC contacted Owens for comment but has not immediately heard back.

A spokesperson for the influencer claimed in a statement that the lawsuit is an attempt to intimidate her, and said that Brigitte Macron had declined repeated interview requests.

“This is a foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an independent American journalist,” she said.

And she concluded that “Candace Owens will not be silent.”

The conspiracy influencer

The French president and first lady also accuse her of falsely claiming that the two are blood relatives, and that Emmanuel Macron was put in power by a secret plot from the CIA.

Owens worked at conservative organizations, including the student group Turning Point and the Daily Wire, before launching her independent podcast in 2024.

She has since spread rumors or suggested conspiracies behind issues including COVID vaccines, the Holocaust, and a moon landing.

In the lawsuit, which also targets her Delaware-based companies, the Macrons are seeking an unspecified amount in damages.

Under U.S. law, plaintiffs must prove "actual malice" -- that the defendant knew the information was false but published or disseminated it anyway.

In September Last year, a French court found two women guilty of defamation for spreading such false claims about Brigitte Macron, but the decision was overturned on appeal earlier this month, according to AFP. Candace Owens is married to George Farmer, a British-American businessman and son of Michael Farmer, a baron and member of the British House of Lords.as well as former treasurer of the Conservative Party Farmer has distanced himself from some of Owens' views.