French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, filed their defamation lawsuit against conservative podcaster Candace Owens in the United States to circumvent a shorter legal deadline in France, Owens' lawyers asserted in a Delaware court on Monday. Chad Shandler, an attorney for Owens, stated during a hearing that "the only logical explanation for filing here is to take advantage of Delaware’s longer statute of limitations," according to Bloomberg Law.
Owens is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit, which the Macrons filed in July 2025. She is accused of defamation for allegedly spreading conspiracy theories that Brigitte Macron is transgender and related by blood to the president. Shandler noted that Delaware has a two-year statute of limitations for defamation cases, significantly longer than France's three-month limit.
Owens' legal team contends that since her podcast is operated from her home in Nashville, Tennessee, the Macrons lack standing to sue her in Delaware. However, Thomas Clare, a lawyer for the Macrons, countered that Owens has companies registered in Delaware. Clare argued that dismissing the suit on these grounds would establish an "absurd" precedent, suggesting that "Delaware is good enough for me but not for thee."
Clare further stated that "these companies are the ones that actually published the defamatory statements." Katharine Mowery, another lawyer for Owens, refuted this, asserting that Owens is being sued personally and that "there’s no allegation she used her corporate power to make those allegedly defamatory statements."
Brigitte Macron recently secured a legal victory in France in a separate case. A French court found 10 individuals guilty of cyberbullying her through online statements alleging she was born male and insinuating inappropriate relations with her younger husband. One defendant received a six-month jail sentence, while others were given suspended sentences ranging from four to eight months and ordered to attend cyberbullying awareness training.
Judge Sheldon K. Rennie presided over the hearing but did not issue a ruling from the bench. The Macrons participated in the hearing via phone but did not speak.