US judge rules Candace Owens cannot be sued personally by Macrons, company suit continues

The ruling

Delaware Superior Court Judge Sheldon Rennie ruled on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, that his court lacks jurisdiction over Candace Owens, who lives in Tennessee. According to the New York Times, the judge dismissed all claims against her. The Independent reported a narrower outcome, saying Rennie postponed a decision on Owens's motion to dismiss until the parties file further arguments. The claims against her two companies, Candace Owens LLC and GeorgeTom Inc., remain in the case because both are registered in Delaware. Reports differ on whether the claims against Owens personally are dismissed outright or held pending further briefing.

A time limit could decide the case

Rennie also raised which law governs the timing of the claims. Because the Macrons are French, French defamation law could apply, according to BFMTV. Under that law, a defamation claim must be brought within three full months of the act, a period that extends to one year for remarks that are racist, sexist, homophobic or related to disability. The judge asked both sides to argue the limitation question before deciding it. If he applies the three-month period, the Macrons' claims could be dismissed, BFMTV reported.

Origins of the lawsuit

The Macrons filed suit in July 2025 in Delaware Superior Court against Owens and her two companies. They said the claims had caused irreparable damage to their reputation. The complaint accuses Owens of waging a "campaign of global humiliation" to promote her podcast and grow what it calls a "frenzied" fan base. In the couple's account, one of the falsehoods was that Brigitte Macron, now 72, was born Jean-Michel Trogneux, which is her older brother's name.

How the claim spread

BFMTV reports that Owens picked up the claim in March 2024, and that a video series titled "Becoming Brigitte", starting in January 2025, gave it worldwide reach. The rumour had resurfaced regularly on French social networks since Emmanuel Macron's first election in 2017, according to the same outlet. The timeline below runs from the first wide spread of the claim to the ruling on 27 October 2026.

Owens's response

Owens addressed the case on her podcast and said:

“This lawsuit is littered with factual inaccuracies.”

She described the suit as part of an obvious and desperate public relations strategy meant to smear her character. Owens said she had not known a lawsuit was coming, although lawyers for both sides had been in contact since January. In a social media statement she thanked the judge and accused the president of trying to personally bankrupt a podcaster who lives outside France. BFMTV reported that she said she was extremely grateful for the decision.

What happens next

The ruling is an interim decision, BFMTV noted, so the case has not been decided on the merits. The judge has yet to rule on whether the French three-month limit applies. The companies remain the only defendants in the case as it stands. Any further ruling will turn on the limitation question and how French defamation law fits with US law.