What specific allegations did Candace Owens make about Brigitte Macron and when were they first published?
Executive summary
Candace Owens has repeatedly promoted the long-running conspiracy that France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron, was “born a man” and originally named Jean‑Michel Trogneux—an allegation Owens amplified in a multi‑part series called Becoming Brigitte and in social posts dating back to March 2024 [1] [2]. The Macrons filed a 218‑page defamation complaint in Delaware in July 2025 accusing Owens of spreading “verifiably false and devastating lies” including claims about Brigitte’s gender and other salacious allegations tied to that narrative [3] [4].
1. What Owens specifically alleged about Brigitte Macron
Owens pushed the specific allegation that Brigitte Macron was assigned male at birth and had once been a man named Jean‑Michel Trogneux (the name of Brigitte’s brother), asserting this repeatedly across social media and in an eight‑part podcast / YouTube series called Becoming Brigitte. French reporting and the Macrons’ complaint characterise these claims as alleging Brigitte “is in fact a man” and assert additional allegations promoted in the same campaign, including sexual misconduct narratives that surfaced alongside the trans claim [1] [2] [3] [4].
2. When those claims first appeared in Owens’ output
Available reporting indicates Owens began amplifying the viral falsehood in the U.S. in 2024, with a documented statement in March 2024 that she would stake her “entire professional reputation” on the belief that Brigitte Macron “is in fact a man” [1]. The Macrons’ U.S. legal complaint cites her promotion of the theme “since March 2024,” and coverage notes Owens released the eight‑part Becoming Brigitte series after requests to retract the claims [2] [3].
3. Earlier origins of the conspiracy and how Owens amplified it
The false claim first circulated in France earlier—viral conspiracy videos in 2021 made the same Jean‑Michel Trogneux allegation, and French actors including Xavier Poussard and self‑described journalist Natacha Rey fed the theory before it spread internationally. Owens reposted and elevated that material to her millions of followers on X and YouTube, turning a fringe French rumor into a transatlantic controversy [5] [6] [1].
4. Legal and journalistic responses to Owens’ versions of the story
The Macrons responded by pursuing legal action on both sides of the Atlantic: a French case addressing online harassment and defamation, and a 218‑page U.S. complaint filed in Delaware in July 2025 that accuses Owens of using her podcast to spread “verifiably false and devastating lies” about Brigitte [3] [4]. French courts previously convicted two women in 2021 for spreading the same false claims, though that decision was later overturned on appeal in reported coverage [1].
5. How Owens’ subsequent allegations changed the dispute
Beyond the gender conspiracy, Owens later escalated rhetoric: in November 2025 she alleged an assassination plot she said was linked to Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron, claiming a “high‑ranking employee” warned her and that payments had been made—allegations widely reported as lacking verifiable evidence in the available coverage [7] [8] [9]. Reporting and fact‑checking outlets noted the assassination claims came amid the defamation suit over her earlier statements about Brigitte [7] [8].
6. Competing perspectives and limits of available sources
Journalistic coverage and the Macrons’ complaint present Owens’ statements as amplification of a demonstrably false conspiracy and as intentional, attention‑seeking amplification for profit and notoriety [3] [4]. Some outlets recount Owens’ insistence and public defiance—she has publicly stood by her claims and framed legal action as “goofy” in her view—while fact‑checking organizations and French authorities categorise the claims as fake news [1] [7]. Available sources do not mention any independently verified evidence supporting the claim that Brigitte Macron was born male or that the Macrons paid for an assassination [1] [7] [8].
7. Why the timeline and wording matter
The distinction between the conspiracy’s French origin and Owens’ amplification (documented from March 2024 onward) matters legally and rhetorically: French actors first generated the rumor, but Owens transformed it into an international controversy through her March 2024‑onward publications—including Becoming Brigitte—which the Macrons cite in their July 2025 complaint as the core of the U.S. defamation case [5] [2] [3].
Limitations: this account relies only on the provided reporting; it does not include any documents from the Delaware docket beyond what those outlets summarised, nor does it attempt to adjudicate the truth of competing claims beyond what the cited coverage states [3] [4].