French First Lady Brigitte Macron Hired Investigators to Probe Candace Owens — Before Launching Multi-million Dollar Legal Bid Over Sex Swap Claims
Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron hired private investigators to look into Candace Owens before they sued her for defamation.
Aug. 12 2025, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
The Macrons weren't messing around.
Lawyers representing French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, enlisted a private investigator to research far-right podcaster Candace Owens as they prepared to take legal action against her, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Emmanuel and Brigitte sued Owens for defamation after she allegedly ignored multiple legal warnings from their attorney about her repeatedly promoting baseless conspiracy theories alleging the French first lady was actually born a man and sexually assaulted her husband when he was a minor.
A Deep Investigation
The investigators reportedly discovered Owens' ties to French right-wing influencers and her popularity in Russian media.
After digging into Owens' background, the private investigators reportedly compiled a trove of documents detailing her ties to French right-wing influencers and alarming popularity in Russian media.
The investigation was conducted by U.S.-based law firm Nardello & Co. and presented to the Macrons before they filed their lawsuit against the podcast host last month.
Nardello & Co. executive chair Dan Nardello noted: "The Macrons have brought this lawsuit with the full knowledge of who Owens is aligned with."
P.I. Benefits
The Macrons' lawyer said they wanted to understand why a U.S. influencer was so interested in them.
The Marcons' decision to hire the private investigators not only showed how serious they were about pursuing legal action against Owens but also served as a subtle flex of their resources and willingness to spend money on the matter.
Emmanuel and Brigitte's lawyer, Tom Clare, also said the couple wanted to understand why a U.S.-based influencer would take such an interest in them, and be willing to "risk her professional reputation" over the conspiracy theory.
Clare added the private investigators' findings could also be helpful when explaining the context in which Owens made the claims to a jury.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S.-based law firm Nardello & Co.
Despite being hit with a lawsuit, Owens has refused to back down and continued to attack the Macrons on her show.
As RadarOnline.com reported, Owens addressed Emmanuel and Brigitte hiring a private investigator to "look into my relationship with Russia" on her podcast and accused the French first lady of suffering from "mental illness."
Owens also took to social media to slam the couple for hiring private investigators, despite the move being common practice in lawsuits.
She wrote on X: "How is this not mental illness? @EmmanuelMacron is being absolutely humiliated."
Hours later, she doubled down in a follow-up post, writing: "I cannot believe my eyes. This is a literal head of state hiring investigators to look into a mother who podcasts from her basement. @EmmanuelMacron, your wife absolutely must check into rehab."
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Owens previously said she was willing to risk her 'professional reputation' on allegations Brigitte is a transgender woman.
Owens' claims are largely based on a conspiracy theory pushed in a 2021 YouTube video by self-proclaimed spiritual medium Amandine Roy and self-described journalist Natacha Rey, both of whom Brigitte has already sued for libel and is currently in the process of appealing their overturned convictions.
The Macrons accused Owens of "routinely peddling misinformation under the guise of legitimate reporting" and said she "built a brand on provocation, not truth."
Their lawsuit stated: "Her conduct reveals a clear motive to generate controversy for financial and reputational gain. She will say anything, regardless of how outrageous or unfounded, to attract attention, build her platform, and achieve notoriety."
