French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, have sued American hard-right podcaster Candace Owens for defamation, alleging that the influencer profited off of spreading a false rumor that the French first lady was born a biological male.

In their suit, filed in Delaware state court, the Macrons allege that Owens has “used this false statement to promote her independent platform, gain notoriety, and make money,” including launching an eight-part podcast series called “Becoming Brigitte,” in which she pushes various conspiracy theories about the Macrons and their relationship.

According to the 219-page filing, Owens, a conservative commentator and former communications director of Turning Point USA, began promoting theories about the French first lady’s gender identity in 2024, claiming that she was born biologically male, stole another person’s identity and is committing incest in her marriage with the French president — all of which the Macrons have vociferously denied.

Still, Owens has doubled down on her allegations, even making T-shirts with Brigitte Macron’s face fashioned as the cover of TIME Magazine with the tagline “man of the year” below her photograph.

“I would stake my entire professional reputation on the fact that Brigitte Macron is in fact a man,” Owens posted to X in March 2024, after her initial podcast episode about the French first lady gained traction online.

The Elysée declined to comment further on the suit.

A spokesperson for Owens slammed the Macrons’ suit as a “foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist.”

“Candace Owens is not shutting up,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Candace repeatedly requested an interview with Brigitte Macron. Instead of offering a comment, Brigitte is resorting to trying to bully a reporter into submission. In France, politicians can bully journalists, but this is not France. It’s America. Candace will address everything on her show today, where she will continue to express her First Amendment rights.”

In the filing, the Macrons allege that Owens’ commentary has resulted in “relentless bullying on a worldwide scale” and demand a jury trial in the state of Delaware, where Owens’ businesses are based.

The suit comes as the Macrons pursue a separate legal battle back home against two women for pushing the same transphobic theory about the president’s wife.

While a French court initially found the two women guilty of libel in 2024, ordering them to pay 8,000 euros to the first lady and 5,000 euros to her brother, who was also a party in the trial, the women were acquitted by the Paris Court of Appeal earlier this month.

The French first lady filed an appeal in that case July 14.