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Politics is never an easy game. Through history and modern times, there are countless examples of how dirty things can get. Mudslinging and maligning your opposing candidate is an age-old tactic.
But what is currently happening between Candace Owen and Brigitte Macron seems almost incredulous. And all of this reveals something quite ugly that is taking place in society.
With the rise of the Republicans in the United States in this past election, many changes have been made. Quite a few of those have to do with gender. Immediately after taking office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that essentially said the government would now only recognize two genders: male and female.
These orders are now slowly beginning to affect people’s everyday lives. Actress Hunter Schafer took to social media and posted how her passport now reads ‘M’ under Sex to signify that she is ‘Male.’ Her previous passports and government documentation all signified her as ‘F,’ as she identifies as a transgender woman.
All of this goes to show that not only is transphobia rising in the U.S. but actually being adopted by government bodies. In my opinion, denying a person their right to choose their gender identity and expression goes against their basic human rights to a life with dignity.
But effectively encouraging transphobia by essentially codifying it into law and policy means that anyone is a fair target. While the concept of ‘transvestigations’ is as old as time, with people casting doubt over ciswomen or cismen (people born as the gender they identify with) as to whether they might be trans.
The latest transvestigation that has reached deafening new heights of coverage is Candace Owen’s claim that French first lady Brigitte Macron is actually a man. Political commentator Candace Owens is not the first person to peddle this theory, and she probably will not be the last.
The theory first popped up in 2017, when a self-described journalist, Natacha Rey, claimed that Brigitte Macron never existed and that her brother Jean-Michel Trogneux, after changing his gender, was masquerading as her.
In 2021, Natacha Rey was interviewed for a YouTube video which gained notoriety when Macron won the Presidential election in France in 2022. The evidence provided in the video used a picture of Jean-Michel as a child to show how similar he looked to Brigitte, which makes sense since they are siblings and hence share a familial resemblance.
The video prompted Brigitte to file a libel complaint against those in the YouTube video making these claims about her being transgender. And the court ruled in favor of Macron, ordering that she and her brother be paid damages.
The matter has already been dealt with in France, but Candace Owens is using the rising and acceptance of transphobia to peddle her own theories and gain views on her videos. It is an ugly tactic to gain some traction, based on the reputation of another country’s first lady.
Things have been so bad in this regard, that Emmanuel Macron has in the past also addressed the insistence that some people have, saying that his wife was born a man. He said referring to those who believe those theories, “There are still some crazies out there.”
And now Candace Owens is regurgitating the same old beliefs they had already tried to set straight in France to an American audience. She has claimed that she is being threatened by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, with legal action and is trying to peddle this move by the Macrons as a way to silence her from revealing what she believes is the truth.
But in reality, who would not want to protect their name from being maligned in the media based on false narratives? The Macrons are taking legal action against what they deem libelous, as it is their legal right.
Candace Owens trying to hold a judgment in the court of public opinion, over a matter which does not concern her or the American public in the least, is honestly outrageous.
The American people have a lot of things they should be focusing on, but rather they are consumed by a futile and unfair ‘transvestigation’ into the French first lady. Perhaps, everyone’s time would be better spent focusing on domestic issues rather than importing fictitious problems from Europe.
What do you think of Candace Owen’s claims about Brigitte Macron? Let us know in the comments. Share this with others to see what they think.
