Photo via The Straits Times

US judge narrows French President Macron's defamation lawsuit against podcaster

Read the original at The Straits Times ↗
Cite

The Straits Times. (2026, October 28). US judge narrows French President Macron's defamation lawsuit against podcaster. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/us-judge-narrows-french-president-macrons-defamation-lawsuit-against-podcaster

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Straits Times · collected 2026-10-28 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

On October 27, a Delaware judge ruled that French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife can pursue their defamation case against two companies associated with right-wing podcaster Candace Owens but not against Owens personally. The judge decided he lacked jurisdiction over Owens since she resides in Tennessee. The lawsuit was filed by the Macrons in July due to false claims made about Brigitte Macron's birth gender, among other issues. Judge Sheldon Rennie also postponed a final decision on whether French defamation law applies until more information is provided regarding its intersection with U.S. statutes of limitation.
Written by AI on 2026-10-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A Delaware judge ruled on October 27 that French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, could continue their defamation lawsuit against two companies linked to right-wing podcaster Candace Owens: Candace Owens LLC and Georgetom Inc., which are registered in Delaware. However, the court lacks jurisdiction over Owens herself, who resides in Tennessee. The Macrons filed the suit in July, alleging that Owens had waged a "campaign of global humiliation" against them, including false claims about Brigitte Macron's gender identity. Judge Sheldon Rennie deferred ruling on Owens' motion to dismiss the case until further legal briefings clarify how French defamation laws interact with U.S. statutes. In response, Owens thanked the judge in a social media statement, calling it "one of the grossest legal overreaches by a foreign government leader in human history."

Written for “Macron Defamation Lawsuit Loss” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Macron Defamation Lawsuit Loss
Politics · 3 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 57% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Independent
Hedges 5 of 24 claims Outlet record 59/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
7
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
57%
4 of 7 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-28 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 4353 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

The Straits Times
2849 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The strikes, which also targeted a cargo vessel at sea near Odesa, follow Tuesday's bombardments with missiles and drones that knocked out power to swathes of Ukraine, a week before US-brokered peace talks were set to resume.
🔮 While Ramaswamy, 41, faced sharp backlash over his ad campaign, Trump continued to back the Republican candidate and accused the media of a coordinated attack to undermine his chances. US Vice-President J.D. Vance similarly defended his “good friend” Ramaswamy while on the campaign trail in Ohio. But Democrats swiftly criticised the ad, as did some Republicans including outgoing Ohio governor Mike DeWine, who could not run again due to term limits. In the ad by Ramaswamy’s campaign, Acton’s estranged mother – Donna Arthur – said her daughter has “lied her entire life” and should not be allowed to become governor. Acton issued a statement in October saying that she and her brother had “endured abuse, hunger, and neglect” as children. “Between the ages of 10 and 12, I was sexually abused by her husband, while my birth mother did nothing to protect me,” she said.
🔮 It was a striking Democratic gain in a state President Donald Trump carried by more than 16 percentage points in 2024 and where the race had initially been expected to be safely Republican.
🔮 The top Democrat in the US House of Representatives vowed on Nov 3 he would use his expected majority to go after corruption, in an election when alleged grift by President Donald Trump has been top of voters’ minds.
🔮 In an interview with Fox News, Trump said Democrats would send legislation he considered “insane” to his desk and that he would veto it.
🔮 Three-term Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott lost to Democratic state Representative Gina Hinojosa in a stunning upset that ends the Republican Party’s three-decade hold on the governor’s office, US media projected on Nov 3.
🔮 Talarico defeated the state’s Attorney-General Ken Paxton, a close ally of President Donald Trump who survived impeachment and years of scandal, NBC News and CBS News projected.
🔮 Democrat Kathy Hochul was projected to win a second full term as New York’s governor, defeating Republican Bruce Blakeman in a race polls showed her leading throughout the campaign.
🔮 Trump says he will accept results of US midterm elections Erica L. Green and Tyler Pager AI generated
🔮 But after initially saying Trump was “cautiously optimistic,” the mood music changed as Democrats looked increasingly likely to deal the president a bruising setback that could upend his last two years in power.
Also by The Straits Times
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 2849 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

Delaware France French Superior Court Tennessee

Subjects

Owens PERSON · 6× Delaware GPE · 3× French NORP · 3× Macrons PERSON · 3× Brigitte PERSON · 1× Candace Owens PERSON · 1× Emmanuel Macron PERSON · 1× France GPE · 1× Macron PERSON · 1× Superior Court ORG · 1×

Narrative

Owens thanked the judge in a social media statement, saying the case "represents one of the grossest, legal overreaches by a foreign government leader in human history — a sitting President's attempt to personally bankrupt a single podcaster from outside the nation in which he governs"
framing: speculative · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-28
🔮 A judge in Delaware ruled on Tuesday that French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, could continue their defamation lawsuit against the companies of right-wing podcaster Candace Owens, but not against Owens herself.
2026-10-28 · The Straits Times
US judge narrows French President Macron's defamation lawsuit against podcaster · speculative framing

Claims (7 extracted, 4 hedged)

US judge narrows French President Macron's defamation lawsuit against podcaster Oct 27 - asserted
judge → narrow → podcaster
A judge in Delaware ruled on Tuesday that French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, could continue their defamation lawsuit against the companies of right-wing podcaster Candace Owens, but not against Owens herself. uncertain
Macron → rule → Owens
The Macrons sued Owens and two Delaware-registered businesses associated with her in July over what they called her lie-filled "campaign of global humiliation", including the claim that France's first lady was born a male • uncertain
lady → sue → claim
Superior Court Judge Sheldon Rennie agreed in a Tuesday order that his court did not have jurisdiction over Owens, who lives in Tennessee, but the defamation case against the businesses, Candace Owens LLC and Georgetom Inc, could continue for now as they were registered in Delaware • uncertain
they → agree → Delaware
Rennie deferred judgment on Owens' motion to dismiss the Macrons' litigation until the parties had briefed him further on how French defamation law and statutes of limitation intersect with US law • asserted
law → defer → law
Owens thanked the judge in a social media statement, saying the case "represents one of the grossest, legal overreaches by a foreign government leader in human history — a sitting President's attempt to personally bankrupt a single podcaster from outside the nation in which he governs" asserted
he → thank → which
• In their lawsuit, the Macrons said Owens touted false claims and conspiracy theories against them "to promote her independent platform, gain notoriety, and make money" uncertain
Owens → say → money
💬Give feedback · no sign-in needed

No sign-in needed for now. Your note is sent without a name, so it cannot be answered.

🕘History 🎫Support