A strange and wild rumor has been making the rounds online. Some people are claiming that Brigitte Macron, the First Lady of France, is secretly a man. The rumor goes so far as to say she was born male under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux and has been hiding it for decades. Conservative commentator Candace Owens repeated this claim on social media and in interviews, pushing the story even further. But now, the Macrons have had enough—and they’re fighting back in court.
Brigitte Macron and her husband, French President Emmanuel Macron, filed a defamation lawsuit in the United States, in the state of Delaware, back in July. They say that the false claims have caused them serious reputational damage. Their lawyer, Tom Clare, said the rumors are not only false but also deeply upsetting.
According to Clare, Mrs. Macron will be offering photographic evidence in court to prove that she is, in fact, a biological woman. This includes pictures of her during pregnancy and photos of her raising her children. These will be submitted under legal standards, meaning the court will closely examine the truth behind the evidence.
The lawsuit also goes beyond the gender claim. It challenges other wild statements made by Owens, including the bizarre idea that President Macron was involved in a CIA mind-control program and was a victim of statutory rape when he was a teenager. These claims, like the others, are not based on any credible evidence.
The accusations about Mrs. Macron’s gender may seem like something out of a science fiction movie, but they’ve gained traction online. President Macron spoke out earlier this year, calling the rumors “false and fabricated.” He compared them to conspiracy theories about the Earth being flat or the idea that the world is run by reptiles—claims that are clearly untrue but still believed by some people on the internet.
So who is Brigitte Macron really? She was born Brigitte Trogneux on April 13, 1953, in Amiens, a city in northern France. Her family is well-known in the region for running a successful chocolate business. She was previously married and has three children from that marriage. There are photos of her as a child, announcements of her birth, and even pictures from her first wedding back in 1974. All of this will be part of the evidence submitted in court.
Candace Owens, for her part, says the lawsuit is an attempt to silence her and hide the truth. But in defamation cases, the burden of proof is on the person being sued. That means Owens will have to show that her statements were either true or that she had reason to believe they were true. Given the evidence the Macrons are ready to present, that could be a tough case to make.
Some might wonder why the Macrons are taking this to an American court instead of a French one. The answer is simple: much of the false information was spread by American platforms and American personalities. Taking the case to the U.S. allows them to go after the source directly under U.S. laws.
In the age of social media, false claims can spread like wildfire. And while some may laugh off these kinds of rumors, they can have real consequences. For public figures like the Macrons, the damage to their reputation can be serious and lasting.
This case will likely draw a lot of attention as it moves forward. But one thing is already clear: Brigitte Macron is pushing back hard against baseless rumors and using hard evidence to do it. And in a world where truth often struggles to keep up with viral lies, that kind of response is more important than ever.