Candace Owens has staked her career on the fact that French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife was born a man.
The conservative commentator went to X to advance the controversial theory, hours after outlining it an episode of her podcast.
It turns out that French first lady Brigitte Macron, 70, was actually born Jean-Michel Trogneux before eventually transitioning at the age of 30.
It further states that she did not give birth to any of her three children and that her first husband, a 69-year-old retired banker who is said to have died a recluse in 2020, never existed.
The conspiracy stems from an unsubstantiated claim made by the far-right magazine Faits et Documents (Facts and Documents) after Macron, 46, was elected. Still, Owens remained steadfast with his speculation on Tuesday before laying into those who disagree.
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Candace Owens said Tuesday that she would be willing to bet her career on French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife being born a man.
President Macron with his wife, Brigitte Trogneux, in Paris on February 22, 2017
‘After looking into this, I would bet my entire professional reputation that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man,’ Owens, 34, wrote on the platform formerly known as Twitter, linking to the episode from the night before.
“Any journalist or publication that tries to dismiss this plausibility is immediately identifiable as establishment,” she charged.
‘I have never seen anything like it in my life. The consequences here are terrifying.
‘I have no intention of letting go of this story and I encourage other journalists to look into this explosive story and report accordingly.’
The night before, she presented a Daily Mail article from 2021 that appeared to debunk the speculation, before speaking in depth about the theory surrounding the French head of state’s spouse.
Rejecting the opinions of several seasoned experts interviewed for the piece, Owens presented the so-called findings from what she said was a ‘three-year’ study by the publication.
She further claimed that if Brigitte really wanted to deny the allegations, she could simply release photos from the first 30 years of her life.
Owens also analyzed a rare family photo of Brigitte Macron’s family when she was a child, claiming she was a ‘dead ringer’ for her older brother – before claiming they were the same person.
The theory is that French first lady Brigitte Macron, 70, was actually born Jean-Michel Trogneux – the name of her older brother – before eventually switching in her 30s
Owens also analyzed a rare family photo of Brigitte Macron’s family when she was a child, claiming that she (seen in the center of her mother’s tutu) was a ‘dead ringer’ for her older brother Jean-Michel Trogneux (left) – before she claimed they were the same person
She went on to produce a ‘before and after photo’ allegedly used as part of the Faits et Documents investigation – one that used Chinese software to cite similarities between an undated photo of Brigitte’s brother and the first lady herself
She went on to tell her followers why she thinks this theory ‘has legs,’ due to the fact that the First Lady (seen here as a child) has refused to produce any other photos of herself before she turned 30.
‘(The theory) is that First Lady Brigitte Macron was actually born Jean-Michel (Trogneux) – so Brigitte is actually Jean-Michel.
‘Jean-Michel lived as a man for 30 years, had five children, okay, and then transitioned at the age of 30 to become Brigitte.
She went on to produce a ‘before and after photo’ allegedly used as part of the Faits et Documents investigation – one that used Chinese software to cite similarities between an undated photo of Brigitte’s brother and the first lady herself .
Owens, in turn, categorized the comparison as a dead ringer, telling his roughly three million subscribers: ‘It’s crazy to me that you wouldn’t say these two people look alike.’
She went on to tell her followers why she believes this theory ‘has legs’.
The first obvious thing,” she said, “is that the first lady is simply unable to produce any images of herself for the first 30 years of her life.
‘Boys, how easy is it to debunk this – if you say Candace, no, actually you lived as a man for 30 years, I’ve lived 30 years: I’ll show you every picture of every year I’ve lived.’
She went on to produce several images of her through various stages of her life to illustrate her point.
‘Here’s me in college straight, here’s me while I was pregnant with my kids. Here is me and my husband on our wedding day.
The conspiracy stems from an unsubstantiated claim made by the far-right magazine Faits et Documents (Facts and Documents) after Macron, 46, was elected. Still, Owens remained faithful to his speculation on Tuesday
“There would be so many pictures that Brigitte should have at her disposal if this is fake,” she accuses, but they won’t produce any.
‘No – they just call everyone wrong and backwards and transphobic. Just produce the images.’
“Instead, the only images they have produced that are circulating in the media are the images that I have just shown you,” she added, citing the images showing Brigitte’s brother Jean-Michel Trogneux as a child and also a young Brigitte .
“And, like I said, the first picture she looks more like Jean-Michel, who she claims is actually her brother, who she doesn’t just want to present to the public,” Owens continued.
“If it really is your brother, just take a walk with him so we can catch it.”
Owens’ remarks came days after a visibly tired Macron finally addressed the rumors at an International Women’s Day event on Friday, saying: ‘The worst is the false information and made-up scenarios.’
“People eventually believe them and disturb you, even in your intimacy,” he further asserted.
He added that the transgender claims about Macron were typical of the misogynistic online attacks that women have to deal with every day.
The first obvious thing,” Owens said, “is that the first lady is simply unable to produce any images of herself for the first 30 years of her life
Owens’ remarks came just days after a visibly tired Macron finally addressed the rumors about his much older spouse on Friday, saying: ‘The worst is the false information and made-up scenarios’
Two women who claimed the Première Dame was born a man had ‘symbolic fines’ reduced on appeal last June.
In return, both claimed they had been subjected to “intimidation by the authorities” as “ultra-protected” members of the Paris establishment tried to cover up a “state secret”.
All parties to the case accepted the fines handed down on appeal as a final settlement of what had become a huge embarrassment for the first couple.
The transphobic rumors about Brigitte Macron were first picked up by the far right in 2022, while the president was campaigning for re-election.
Groups including the Yellow Vests (Gilets Jaunes) and those protesting against Covid vaccines continued to use the claims to attack the French.
Meanwhile, videos produced by journalists touting the comparisons — much like Owens did — have since been removed from YouTube.
The Daily Mail has contacted President Macron’s office for comment.