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What exact quote did Candace Owens make about France and French people?
Executive Summary
Candace Owens has repeatedly made baseless, personal claims about France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron — including calling her a “man” and referring to her as the “first lady man of France” — remarks that have prompted a high-profile defamation lawsuit by President Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron. Reporting through July–November 2025 shows Owens propagated the transgender conspiracy publicly on video and social media, doubled down when sued, and framed legal action as censorship of her speech, while French authorities and courts treat the claims as defamatory falsehoods [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. The Specific Lines That Fueled an International Lawsuit — How Owens Framed Brigitte Macron
Candace Owens published a long video and social posts asserting that Brigitte Macron might be male and mockingly calling her a “very goofy man,” and she referred to Brigitte as the “first lady man of France,” language that directly targeted the Macron family and circulated widely online; those explicit characterizations are the factual kernel behind the Macrons’ defamation suit, which accuses Owens of pushing “grotesque lies” rather than making rhetorical criticism [1] [4] [3]. Owens’ material framed the allegation as a provable truth and she publicly refused retraction, stating the lawsuit itself is proof and that she would defend her claims as if they were factual assertions; this matters legally because courts distinguish protected opinion from knowingly false factual statements, and the Macrons’ complaint frames Owens’ words as the latter [1] [5].
2. How News Organizations and Legal Filings Recorded Her Exact Phrasing
Multiple outlets reporting on the litigation cite Owens’ video and social posts rather than printing a formal, page‑by‑page transcript, but they document key phrasing used by Owens — notably the mocking label “first lady man of France” and the claim that Brigitte Macron is “a very goofy man” — phrases repeated in clips and screenshots that prosecutors and lawyers reference in filings and media coverage; those quotations serve as the concrete statements at issue in the Macrons’ complaint and in subsequent reporting [3] [4] [2]. News reports from July through November 2025 also note Owens revisited and amplified the allegation in later episodes and posts after lawyers asked for retraction, which the Macrons cite as persistent dissemination, not a one‑off remark [1] [5].
3. What Owens’ Supporters and Spokespeople Say — Free Speech vs. Falsehoods
Owens and her spokesperson framed the lawsuit as an attack on her First Amendment rights and a publicity tactic by the French president, characterizing legal action as censorship rather than a defamation claim over false factual assertions; this defense emphasizes political expression and exaggeration, a common argument from public‑figure commentators when sued for controversial speech [1] [3]. Opposing voices — including the Macrons’ lawyers and outlets covering the suit — treat the statements as demonstrably false and harmful, pointing to documentary evidence about Brigitte Macron’s identity and prior French rulings that found similar conspiracies defamatory; this split highlights the legal tension between protected opinion and actionable falsehoods in transnational defamation suits [1] [5].
4. How Courts and Prior French Cases Put the Claims in Context
French courts have previously addressed and, in some instances, penalized spreaders of similar conspiracies about Brigitte Macron, establishing a judicial context that treats the specific transgender allegation as capable of being defamatory; the Macrons are seeking damages and plan to present evidence intended to disprove Owens’ assertions, signaling that the case will hinge on whether her words were presented as verifiable fact rather than rhetorical provocation [5] [1]. Media coverage and legal filings from July to September 2025 underscore that the lawsuit is built on Owens’ explicit claims and repetition of the allegation, not abstract commentary about France — a distinction the Macrons emphasize to move beyond political debate into civil liability [2] [4].
5. Why Exact Quotation Matters — Public Record, Harm, and Agenda Flags
Reporting shows the exact phrases Owens used are central to whether her statements are legally actionable: calling Brigitte Macron “a very goofy man” and labeling her the “first lady man of France” are specific assertions about identity presented as fact, which courts treat differently than satire or rhetorical hyperbole [4] [3]. The coverage also signals potential agendas: Owens’ framing taps into conspiracy networks and culture‑war audiences, while the Macrons’ legal move can be read both as a defense of personal reputation and as a government figure countering transnational disinformation; both angles appear in reporting from July–November 2025 and matter for readers assessing motive and public interest [1] [6] [5].