French President Emmanuel Macron said he and his wife Brigitte had no choice but to sue right-wing provocateur Candace Owens following allegations the French first lady was born a male.

"This has become such a big issue in the United States that we had to respond," Macron told Paris Match on Tuesday. The comments were President Macron's first public statement since the pair filed a defamation suit against Owens in Delaware last month. The suit alleges that Owens spread the rumors to "promote her independent platform, gain notoriety, and make money."

Owens produced and hosted an eight-part podcast titled "Becoming Brigitte" earlier in the year in which she voiced several conspiracy theories about the Macron's history, relationship, and most specifically that Brigitte Macron is a transgender woman having been born a male. Owens went on to allege that the Macrons are blood relatives engaging in incest, President Macron was a CIA plant, and the couple is engaging in fraud "to conceal these secrets," according to the lawsuit.

"[Owens] is someone who knew very well that she was spreading false information and did so with the aim of causing harm, in the service of an ideology, and with established connections to far-right leaders," Macron told the outlet.

The Macrons initially opted to not comment on Owen's documentary, hoping the issue would go away, but ultimately, the traction behind the rumors became too great. A spokesperson for Owens slammed the lawsuit and labeled it a "foreign government attacking the First Amendment rights of an American independent journalist."

Macron then responded by saying the First Amendment does not protect anyone from spreading false, harmful "nonsense."

• France's First Couple Sue Candace Owens for Defamation over Claims That Brigitte Macron Is a Man
• Conservative Influencer Candace Owens Barred From New Zealand Weeks After Ban by Australia