New Delhi – French President Emmanuel Macron is preparing to present evidence in a defamation case following claims that his wife, Brigitte Macron, is a transgender woman. The allegations, made by far-right American influencer Candace Owens, have sparked widespread controversy in France.
Owens accused Brigitte of not being biologically female, a claim Macron has consistently denied. In response, he filed a defamation lawsuit against Owens in a Delaware court in July. Now, Macron and his legal team plan to provide proof of Brigitte’s gender, including photographs and scientific documentation, to refute the allegations.
The controversy over Brigitte’s identity dates back to 2021, when French bloggers Amandine Roy and Natasha Rey first suggested in a YouTube video that the First Lady might be transgender. Macron successfully won a defamation case against them in 2024, but an appeal citing freedom of expression reversed the ruling in 2025. Owens later amplified the claims on Instagram, where she has over six million followers, asserting she would stake her professional reputation to prove Brigitte was born male under the name Jean-Michel Trogneux.
Macron’s lawyer, Tom Clare, told the BBC that while the specific nature of the evidence would remain confidential until presented in court, it may include photographs related to Brigitte’s motherhood and family life.
Brigitte Macron, 72, is 24 years older than the president. The couple first met when she was teaching at a high school in Amiens and Emmanuel was her student. She is a mother of three.
