For Candace Owens, the American right-wing political commentator who faces an ongoing defamation lawsuit filed by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte over her claims that the latter is actually a man, a Paris criminal court’s conviction on Monday of 10 French individuals for cyberbullying the First Lady over similar claims would seemingly strike fear about her own case. But instead, Owens has doubled down.
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“Once again these headlines are written in a way to deceive the public into believing that Brigitte proved she was a woman,” Owens posted on X, in response to a New York Times article about the convictions. “NO. France just has cyber-bullying laws. In essence, Rachel Dolezal could secure a conviction against people for asserting that she was born white.”
“Consider the fact that this man statutorily raped a student and is today securing convictions for ‘cyberbullying’ against people for discussing his dark past,” Owens wrote in another post, asserting that the First Lady was born male. “Brigitte is dangerous. That he wakes up everyday, puts on a fake wig, lipstick and mascara and declares war on those who know his true identity is nothing short of psychopathic.”
The French court sentenced most of the defendants, some of whom had shared posts by Owens, to jail terms for leveling “particularly degrading, insulting, and malicious” comments against the First Lady. Some of the defendants had claimed their posts about Macron were made in jest; others claimed that they were participating in legitimate debate. Brigitte Macron’s daughter from a previous marriage, Tiphaine Auzière, testified to the toll the rumors and discourse had on her mother and their family.
In a separate post, the 36-year-old Owens responded to a user suggesting an impending crackdown on free speech in the U.S. similar to France’s laws. “This is the entire purpose of the lawsuit against me,” Owens responded. “Independent media has made it a struggle for the deep state to stop the public from learning about the evil they partake in. They now want speech restricted in the United States because we are the last stand against them.”
Owens said she will bring back “Becoming Brigitte,” a video and podcast series that focused on the debunked conspiracy theory that Brigitte Macron was a man, later this year. The series was part of the complaint lodged against Owens.
“America has to fight this repression tooth and nail,” she said. “These psychopaths cannot win.”
The relationship between Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron, particularly their 24-year age gap, has been fodder for scrutiny and gossip since the former assumed France’s highest office in 2017. The two met while Emmanuel Macron attended a Jesuit high school in Amiens, where Brigitte was a teacher.
Eight men and two women, aged between 41 and 65, were accused of falsely claiming that Brigitte was a man and linking the age gap to alleged pedophilia through posts made online. Le Monde reported that some of the posts were viewed “tens of thousands of times,” and that presiding judge Thierry Donard described the claims on the First Lady’s “alleged pedophilia” as “malicious, degrading and insulting” and “intentionally harming the complainant.”
Of the 10 defendants, eight were given suspended sentences of between four to eight months, while a ninth was sentenced to six months in jail for not attending the hearing. Three individuals described as key “instigators” were also ordered to have their social media accounts suspended for six months. All were ordered to attend an online course on hate speech and to collectively pay Brigitte Macron €10,000 (around $12,000) for moral damages.
Jean Ennochi, a lawyer for Brigitte Macron, said Monday that the court’s ruling “makes sense” to recognize the First Lady’s harassment. “The most important things are the prevention courses and the suspension of some of the accounts,” Ennochi added.
The First Lady herself did not attend the two-day trial in October, but she went on French television network TF1 on Sunday ahead of the court ruling, saying her harassers had repeatedly ignored evidence proving her gender and using her case to highlight the perils of cyberbullying, which she has advocated against.
“I want to help teenagers fight against bullying,” Brigitte Macron added Sunday, “and if I do not set an example, it will be difficult.”
The post ‘Psychopathic’: Candace Owens Reacts to French Conviction of Brigitte Macron Harassers as Defamation Case Looms appeared first on TIME.
