A Delaware judge ruled on Tuesday that French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, cannot sue podcaster Candace Owens personally in Delaware, but he allowed their defamation case to go forward against her two Delaware-registered companies.
Delaware Superior Court Judge Sheldon Rennie found that because Owens lives in Tennessee, the court has no jurisdiction over her personally, Politico reported. The case continues against Candace Owens LLC and GeorgeTom, Inc. The ruling does not decide whether anything Owens said was defamatory.
The suit
The Macrons sued in July 2025. They allege that Owens falsely claimed, across multiple episodes of her podcast "Candace," that Brigitte Macron is a transgender man who stole the title of first lady, and that the claims caused "substantial and irreparable damage" to their reputation. Their lawyer, Tom Clare, called the suit "really a last resort" when it was filed, PBS NewsHour reported. At the time, Owens called it an "obvious and desperate public relations strategy." The complaint ran 219 pages.
The jurisdiction ruling
Personal jurisdiction is the court's power over a particular defendant, and the Constitution's due process clause limits it. A court generally needs a person to be at home in the state, or to have aimed the conduct being sued over at that state, before it can haul that person into its courtroom.
The suit could proceed against the companies because they are registered in Delaware, Politico reported, while Owens herself lives in Tennessee. In plain terms, choosing Delaware as the legal home for a company does not make its owner a Delaware resident for lawsuit purposes. The companies themselves, as Delaware entities, can be sued there.
The practical effect is that any judgment in this case would run against the two companies, not against Owens's personal assets. The Macrons' lawyers said they were "pleased" that the case against the companies survives and are "keeping all options open" to hold Owens personally accountable. That leaves open a separate suit in a court that does have jurisdiction over her, such as one in Tennessee. Owens said on social media she was "tremendously grateful" and wrote, "I am in the absolute best mood over this Macron dismissal."
The French clock
The second part of the ruling may matter more. Rennie found that the main harm alleged is in France, so French law, not Delaware's, should govern how long the Macrons had to sue. He wrote that French law "generally has a three-month period following publication of allegedly defamatory comments," and that it "apparently expands this limitations period to one year" when the defamation targets someone based on sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.
He ordered both sides to brief which period applies. Politico reported that there is a chance the case is restricted further.
The newsroom's analysis: why the deadline matters
Delaware courts generally treat defamation under the state's two-year deadline for personal injury claims, Section 8119 of the Delaware Code. Under that rule, statements made up to two years before the July 2025 filing would be in play. Under a French three-month window, only statements published in roughly the three months before the filing would survive, and any later episodes would each start their own short clock. Under a one-year window, the reach is longer but still half of Delaware's.
That is the choice the briefing will frame. If the court applies the one-year period because the statements concern gender identity, more of the alleged statements stay in the case. If it applies three months, much of what the Macrons complained about could fall outside the deadline. Either way, the merits fight over truth and falsity, and whether public figures like the Macrons can show the required level of fault, has not begun.
The bigger picture
This is a rare spectacle, a sitting foreign head of state suing an American commentator in an American court. Defamation suits by famous plaintiffs often turn on procedure long before they reach truth, as with the Central Park Five's suit against President Trump that we covered in our story on their exoneration and settlement. Disputes between Trump and European governments have been in the news this week too, with Norway again telling him that the Nobel Committee picks the Peace Prize, not Oslo.
Two Taps News stories summarize reporting and the analysis discussed on Two Taps and Friends. They are not legal advice. Read our standards.
