French President Emmanuel Macron weighed in on his lawsuit against right-wing influencer Candace Owens for the first time on Tuesday, appearing to take a shot at the MAGA movement over perceived free speech hypocrisy.
Macron elaborated on his decision to sue Owens over her podcast series in which she claimed that his wife, Brigitte, is transgender and a blood relative, and shared a variety of other conspiracy theories. He said in an interview with the French outlet Paris Match that while he and his wife were originally going to ignore the matter, he thought it had become too serious to ignore.
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In the interview, also discussing his recent trip to Washington to win over President Donald Trump toward his perspective on the war in Ukraine, Macron not-so-subtly bashed Trump and MAGA over the decision to ban the Associated Press from the Oval Office due to its refusal to call the Gulf of America by its official name. Responding to Owens’s complaint that his lawsuit was an attack on free speech, Macron said, “Those talking about so-called freedom of speech are the same ones banning reporters from the Oval Office.”
The attack could complicate wider negotiations if it makes its way back to Trump. The two normally enjoy warm relations, with Macron usually opting against public criticism of him.
Macron argued that Owens’s allegations against his wife were part of a wider conspiracy.
“[Owens] is someone who knew very well that she was spreading false information and did so with the aim of causing harm, in the service of an ideology and with established connections to far-right leaders,” he said in the interview.
Acknowledging the possibility that the lawsuit could have the opposite of the intended effect, further bringing attention to Owens’s conspiracy theories, Macron argued that it was ultimately necessary, as “It’s a question of having the truth respected.”
“This has become such a big issue in the United States that we had to respond,” he said.
Macron argued that freedom of speech doesn’t protect Owens from spreading “nonsense.”
The Macrons filed a 22-count lawsuit against Owens last month in the Delaware Superior Court, alleging she was making false statements to “promote her independent platform, gain notoriety, and make money.”
Among the allegations made against the Macrons, according to the lawsuit, included, “Mrs. Macron was born a man, stole another person’s identity, and transitioned to become Brigitte; Mrs. Macron and President Macron are blood relatives committing incest; President Macron was chosen to be the President of France as part of the CIA-operated MKUltra program or a similar mind-control program; and Mrs. Macron and President Macron are committing forgery, fraud, and abuses of power to conceal these secrets.”
“Ms. Owens’ campaign of defamation was plainly designed to harass and cause pain to us and our families and to garner attention and notoriety,” they said. “We gave her every opportunity to back away from these claims, but she refused. It is our earnest hope that this lawsuit will set the record straight and end this campaign of defamation once and for all.”