Macrons Hire Private Investigators to Uncover Political Ties of Candace Owens Ahead of Defamation Lawsuit French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte hired a Manhattan-based private investigations firm before filing their defamation lawsuit against American conservative podcaster Candace Owens, according to reports that surfaced Monday. The couple enlisted Nardello & Co., a firm led by a former federal prosecutor, to gather information about Owens' political associations and past public remarks ahead of their legal action in Delaware. The investigation, conducted before the Macrons filed their 22-count lawsuit in July 2025, examined Owens' ties to right-wing figures in France, Britain, and the United States, as well as her coverage in Russian state media. According to The Financial Times, which first reported the story, the firm found that Owens has connections to far-right personalities across these countries and has been featured more than 30 times on RT, a Russian state outlet, since 2018. Background of the Legal Dispute The lawsuit stems from Owens' eight-part podcast series "Becoming Brigitte," in which she claimed that France's first lady was assigned male at birth. In March 2024, Owens posted on social media that she would "stake [her] entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man". The Macrons' complaint describes these allegations as "outlandish, defamatory and far-fetched fictions". The couple's attorney, Tom Clare of Clare Locke LLP, told The Financial Times that part of the reason for hiring investigators was to understand why Owens "targeted the couple" and to provide jurors with context about the source of her claims. Clare noted that the Macrons approached the lawsuit "with the full knowledge of who Owens is aligned with". The investigation traced the conspiracy theory's origins to a Spanish blogger in 2017, with the story gaining wider circulation in France by 2021. Xavier Poussard, who previously edited a right-wing publication, said he translated his reporting into English and forwarded it to Owens and individuals connected to President Trump in 2024. Owens' Response and Ongoing Controversy Owens has dismissed the private investigation as evidence of mental instability on Brigitte Macron's part. "I cannot believe my eyes. This is a literal head of state hiring investigators to look into a mother who podcasts from her basement," she posted on X. In her Monday podcast episode, she accused Brigitte Macron of "displaying attributes of mental illness, which severely undermines the office her husband holds". The podcaster has refused to retract her claims despite receiving three separate retraction demands from the Macrons' lawyers between December 2024 and July 2025. Instead, she has continued to promote the allegations and has monetized her content around the controversy. This marks an unusual case of a foreign head of state suing an American media personality for defamation. The Macrons have indicated they will travel to the United States to appear in person at the trial.
