France's First Lady, Brigitte Macron, has come under attack from some of America's most prolific conservative activists, and this time, it's not because of the age gap between her and the French President, Emmanuel Macron, who is 24 years her junior.

Over the past few months, right-wing political commentator Candace Owens has accused Brigitte of secretly being her own brother in disguise, and even put out an eight-part series attempting to prove her conspiracy theory.

The "transvestigation" is in line with other attacks on major liberal political figures, like Michelle Obama, but this time, the Macrons are getting ready to sue.

However, their lawyer put out a humorously worded statement about the Macrons offering "photo evidence" proving that Brigitte Macron is a woman, and the internet responded in perhaps the most expected way possible — memes.

Here's what you need to know about the wild conspiracy theory that claims Brigitte Macron is trans, and why the internet is memeing the latest development in the story.

What’s Up With People Accusing Brigitte Macron of Being a Man?

The conspiracy theory traces back to the French newsletter Faits et Documents, which in 2021 ran a serialized investigation claiming that Brigitte Macron was actually her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux.

Their key evidence was an old family photo that showed a boy in a checkered shirt, whom conspiracy theorists insisted was Brigitte before transitioning. Other sources, however, identified the boy as her late brother, Jean-Claude.

The rumor snowballed when investigative journalist Natacha Rey discussed it with clairvoyant Amandine Roy on a livestream. The hashtag "#JeanMichelTrogneux" trended across French Twitter, turning a fringe story into a national talking point in France.

But the theory fell apart later that year when the Daily Mail published childhood photos of Brigitte at her first communion and in her wedding dress, alongside a birth announcement from Courier Picard that explicitly introduced her as "their little sister, Brigitte."

By Christmas Eve 2021, Le Figaro reported that Brigitte planned to sue. The case dragged on, and in 2024, both Rey and Roy were convicted of slander and ordered to pay fines to Brigitte and to the real Jean-Michel Trogneux.

On appeal in July 2025, however, a French court overturned the convictions, ruling their statements fell under "good faith" and freedom of expression. Brigitte Macron has since appealed that decision to France's highest court.

What’s This About Brigitte Macron Suing Candace Owens Over Slander?

The rumors might have fizzled out in France, but controversial American political commentator Candace Owens resurrected them for an English-speaking audience in 2024, causing a resurgence online.

On March 11th, 2024, she released a YouTube video accusing Brigitte of secretly being a man, titled "INSANE. This Is The BIGGEST Political Scandal In Human History." The video gathered over 1.3 million views before its removal, and from there, conspiracy accounts began circulating side-by-side comparisons of Brigitte and the boy in the checkered shirt.

Owens escalated further in 2025 with "Becoming Brigitte," a YouTube series treating the conspiracy as fact. Each episode drew millions of views, keeping the story alive long enough for the Macrons to act.

In July 2025, Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron then filed a defamation lawsuit against Owens in Delaware, bringing the fight to U.S. courts.

What’s Up With Memes About Brigitte Macron's Photo Evidence Proving She’s a Woman?

That lawsuit got an unusual twist in September 2025, when the Macrons' lawyer, Tom Clare, told the BBC that they were willing to submit photos of Brigitte Macron pregnant with her children in "court where there are rules and standards."

He meant snapshots from her youth and her pregnancies, but the phrasing of "photo evidence" invited jokes from internet users who found it humorous, as well as those who had already made up their minds about the French First Lady.

Memes posted by users mocking the idea of seeing the Macrons' "photo evidence" flooded X / Twitter within days of the news report.

For example, the X account @grandoldmemes joked about Brigitte posting like a bot account on Twitter, gathering over 70,000 likes, while X user @RealDixonUranus posted a Soldier's Face After Four Years of War meme on September 23rd, alongside the line, "Before and after seeing photographic evidence that Brigitte Macron is a woman."

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For the full history of the Brigitte Macron Is Transgender Conspiracy Theories, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.