The significance lies less in the underlying allegations, which remain untested, than in the choice of forum.
Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron have filed a new defamation lawsuit against the American commentator Candace Owens, according to The Guardian, moving their case to Tennessee after an earlier action in Delaware. A representative for the Macrons' legal team framed the shift as a concession to Owens's own position: "Mrs Owens was adamant that Tennessee is where this case belongs because it's where she lives," the representative said. "With this filing, we are giving her exactly what she has repeatedly demanded."
The complaint alleges that since the Delaware suit was filed, Owens has "unequivocally doubled down", publishing what it calls "outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions" through an eight-part podcast series, "Becoming Brigitte", and accompanying posts on X. The filing also asserts a financial motive, claiming she has used the podcast to "expand her lies about the Macrons, sell merchandise making fun of the Macrons, and collect donations based on her 'reporting' on the Macrons".
Much of the new complaint turns on a prop. It describes a "Brigitte doll" that Owens holds in her videos as "a grotesque, alien-like figure" reminiscent of the character in the film ET, and contends that the doll "caricatures Mrs Macron's body". The use of the doll, the lawsuit argues, confirms "that her campaign against Mrs Macron is driven by animus toward Mrs Macron's perceived gender identity, gender, and sexuality". The filing says the couple has suffered "relentless bullying on a worldwide scale" and describes a "campaign of global humiliation, turning their lives into fodder for profit-driven lies".
The Macrons are seeking actual, presumed and punitive damages, along with a narrowly tailored injunction barring Owens from republishing statements deemed defamatory. The complaint is careful about its ground: "To be clear, there is nothing shameful or defamatory about being a man, being transgender, or being gay," it states. "Owens' statements are defamatory because they accuse the Macrons of lying to France and to the world, for decades, about who Mrs. Macron is – and of committing crimes to conceal that supposed lie."
The Guardian reports that it contacted Owens for comment. On X, she confirmed the new claims, writing in part: "The Macrons have indeed filed a NEW set of claims against me. 88 in total, and this time, they want justice over my Brigitte-Doll." She added that the doll "has never pursued the limelight" and that "Brigitte-Doll will be making no further statements at this time."
The significance lies less in the underlying allegations, which remain untested, than in the choice of forum. A suit brought where the defendant lives and works removes a jurisdictional argument she has already pressed publicly, and it places the financial mechanics of podcast and merchandise revenue before a American jury. Whether a Tennessee court accepts the claim that the doll and the broadcasts amount to actionable defamation, and how it weighs the couple's status as public figures against the alleged commercial motive, is not yet known. Nor is the size of any damages sought. The case is at filing stage; no findings have been made.
