Did Emmanuel Macron and his wife hire a private investigator to investigate Candace Owens?

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, hired a private investigator to look into the US podcaster Candace Owens before suing her in a US court. As per the Financial Times, the couple said that she made false and hurtful claims about them in her podcast series “Becoming Brigitte.”

They turned to Nardello & Co., led by a former federal prosecutor, to gather basic public information about Owens. The firm looked at her public statements, political ties, and where she appeared in the media.

Financial Times reports also stated that the investigation found that Owens has ties to far-right people in France, the US, and the UK. It also noted she is featured often in Russian state media. No personal ties to Russian officials were found, though she did interact online with a Russian nationalist thinker.

Why did Emmanuel Macron and his wife take this step?

The reports by the New York Post mentioned that Emmanuel Macron and his wife took this step to prepare for a serious legal case. They filed a defamation suit in Delaware against Owens in July 2025, calling her claims

"outlandish, defamatory, and far-fetched fictions."

The main false claim is that Brigitte was born male. Their lawyer, Tom Clare of Clare Locke, said they wanted to show why Candace Owens targeted them and help the jury understand where the claims came from. It is rare for a world leader to sue a US commentator. The Macrons are ready to appear in court in Delaware and have a 218-page complaint.

What did the private investigator find?

As per the Financial Times, the private firm traced the start of the rumor. It began with a Spanish blogger in 2017, then spread in France from 2021. A French far-right editor, Xavier Poussard, helped bring the story to Owens in 2024 by translating his work and sending it to her.

Candace Owens first mentioned the rumor in March 2024, referencing a Daily Mail article that tried to debunk it. She then interviewed Poussard on her podcast, naming her series “Becoming Brigitte.” After her series came out, Russian state media covered it. RT posted about her more than 30 times since 2018, and other outlets such as Tsargrad also featured the story.

The New York Post reports that the firm found no proof Owens met with Russian officials, but she did share posts with Alexander Dugin, a Russian nationalist. They also noted her links with French far-right politician Marion Maréchal, the UK’s Nigel Farage, broadcaster Tucker Carlson, and others. Owens criticized Ukraine’s President Zelensky harshly, too.

In plain terms, yes, Emmanuel Macron and his wife hired a private investigator to look into Candace Owens before suing her. They did this to show where her claims came from and to prepare for court. The investigator found ties to right-wing figures, traced the rumor’s origins, and showed how it spread, but found no secret links to Russia. The Macrons' case now moves forward in Delaware.

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