A persistent rumor launched in France by certain conspiracy theorists and internet users, accusing Brigitte Macron of being transgender, has been picked up across the Atlantic by figures from the US Republican party. American journalist Candace Owens, a supporter of Donald Trump, has revived this doubtful theory on X, presenting it as one of the biggest political scandals. According to her, the French First Lady is actually a man. She substantiated this claim in a video that has already been viewed more than 1.5 million times.
The accusation, which claims that the First Lady was born Jean-Michel Trogneux, revolves around the supposed absence of photos of Brigitte Macron when she was young and a presumed resemblance to her brother, deviating into narratives of transsexuality.
The sudden interest of the ambitious Candace Owens from the United States in this theory, widely discredited in France, seems to be motivated by the approach of American and European elections. Owens claims that mainstream media are hiding this story, which she describes as political blackmail orchestrated by dark forces, without however identifying these latter. This discourse follows the classic patterns of conspiracy theories, where individuals are supposedly manipulated by an omnipotent entity.
The interest of some internet users in the private life of the wife of the President of the Republic is very real. There are many Google queries questioning Brigitte Macron’s age, her hair, her marriage…
Cyril Hanouna, during the show Touche pas à mon poste which needs no introduction, also discussed the extent of the rumor with his columnists. The matter was also mentioned by the Daily Mail among others.
This situation recalls other disinformation campaigns based on gender identity, targeting political figures such as Michelle Obama and former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. This type of malicious rumors has also harmed famous French women like singer Sheila, former Miss France Élodie Gossuin and even actress and former muse of Salvador Dali, Amanda Lear, who chose to laugh it off.
Emmanuel Macron‘s response to these absurd allegations was to lament the presence of “nutcases”. This affair raises questions about the extent of fake news too widely spread by social media. This is all the more worrying as major elections approach.