Fame Under Fire

A writer convicted of cyber-bullying the French president’s wife has told the Fame under Fire podcast he doesn’t regret it.

Bertrand Scholler posted an edited photo of Brigitte Macron in a swimming costume. Her head had been cut out and a man’s torso edited in.

He was one of 10 defendants in France accused of spreading false claims about Mrs Macron’s gender and sexuality as well as making “malicious remarks” about the 24 year age gap between her and her husband.

They were found guilty at a Paris court. Scholler was handed a suspended sentence of six months.

Speaking after his conviction, he said he was in “shock”, adding that the law which led to his conviction was a “nuclear bomb for freedom of speech”.

We also hear from the BBC’s Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield about the court case and what’s next for the Macrons.

Got questions? Send us a Whatsapp message on 0330 678 111 4.

Subscribe to Fame Under Fire on BBC Sounds and turn on push notifications so you never miss an episode. We’ll let you know as soon as new episodes are available.

Host: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Series Producer: Vicky Farncombe Senior Impact Producer: Melanie Stewart-Smith Production Coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross Technical Producer: Mark Burrows Editor: Clare Fordham Assistant Commissioning Producer: Rechmial Miller Commissioning Producer: Adam Eland Assistant Commissioner: Will Drysdale Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts

Anoushka and the Fame Under Fire team would like to wish you a happy new year.

We're back next week, but in the meantime, you can go back and catch up on some of the most recent episodes!

Got questions? Send us a Whatsapp message on 0330 678 111 4.

Subscribe to Fame Under Fire on BBC Sounds and turn on push notifications so you never miss an episode. We’ll let you know as soon as new episodes are available.

Host: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Series Producer: Vicky Farncombe Senior Impact Producer: Melanie Stewart-Smith Production Coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Editor: Clare Fordham Assistant Commissioning Producer: Rechmial Miller Commissioning Producer: Adam Eland Assistant Commissioner: Will Drysdale Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts

The Macrons' lawyer has told the BBC that claims the French president and his wife ordered the assassination of Candace Owens are "deranged".

The right-wing influencer first made the allegations in a tweet on 22 November which has now been viewed more than 44 million times.

In the message labelled URGENT, Owens wrote that she was contacted by what she described as “a high-ranking employee of the French Government,” who allegedly warned her that the Macrons had “executed upon and paid for my assassination."

She has since reiterated the claims - recently in an interview with Russell Brand.

In a statement to the BBC's Fame under Fire podcast, Tom Clare said: "This deranged allegation is right out of Ms. Owens’ playbook. We’re not going to dignify it with a response beyond noting that it does further and fit her pattern of reckless and irresponsible defamation of our clients."

Candace Owens has also been meeting with Charlie Kirk’s widow this week after promoting theories about his death to her millions of followers.

In an interview with CBS, Erika Kirk had asked people making “unfounded claims” regarding his assassination to “just stop”.

Host Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty and Will Sommer, senior journalist with The Bulwark, look into the story and discuss the podcaster's influence in US politics.

Got questions? Send us a Whatsapp message on 0330 678 111 4. Subscribe to Fame Under Fire on BBC Sounds and turn on push notifications so you never miss an episode. We’ll let you know as soon as new episodes are available. Host: Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty Series Producer: Vicky Farncombe Senior Impact Producer: Melanie Stewart-Smith Production Coordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford Editor: Clare Fordham Assistant Commissioning Producer: Rechmial Miller Commissioning Producer: Adam Eland Assistant Commissioner: Will Drysdale Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts