The world seems to still be reeling after footage of French president Emmanuel Macron's wife Brigitte allegedly 'slapping' him went viral online.
In case you're not in the loop, the now-viral incident took place on Sunday (25 May) when Macron, 47 and his missus, 72, stepped off the plane in Hanoi, Vietnam, to kick off their South-East Asia tour.
Footage from the Associated Press shows the world leader standing by the plane's exit as workers opened the door, at which point a hand believed to be Brigitte's suddenly comes into view and appears to 'slap' his face.
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A few moments later, Brigitte walks out behind him and the pair descend the stairs onto the runway.
A lip reader's take on the 'slap'
Now the ordeal has gained worldwide attention, a lip reader has weighed in on the matter to share their thoughts on exactly what the First Lady of France said to her husband, who she first met when he was just 15-years-old.
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According to LipReader Analysis commissioned by The Express, the expert said: "As the aircraft door opens, President Macron is seen turning toward Brigitte. In an unexpected moment, she pushes him in the face.
"Realising the door is already open and staff are witnessing the interaction, Emmanuel appears uncomfortable and quickly raises his hand with a forced 'Hi'."
A member of staff apparently then 'visibly flinches, brushing her hand through her hair in discomfort' before descending the steps rapidly.
The analyst continued: "Emmanuel then steps closer to Brigitte before composing himself and crossing to the other side. Moments later, he signals for her to follow him with 'Let’s go'.
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"He thanks the pilot and waves at the cameras, trying to recover the public-facing image."
'Stay away from me'
However, at the top of the stairs, the lip reader claims that 'things turn icy again'.
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"He offers his arm; she ignores it, clinging to the railing instead. As she passes, she appears to mutter, and lipread as 'Dégage, espèce de loser', translated in English 'Stay away, you loser'," they claimed.
Macron then reportedly appears to say 'Essayons, s’il te plaît', which translates in English as: "Let's try, please?"
"Non," Brigitte allegedly responded.
The lip reader went on to analyse the French president's 'closing expression', which was, according to the expert, 'Je vois' which means 'I see' when translated in English.
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"Says it all," they added. "Hot Take: A rare unguarded exchange that hints at deeper tensions between the couple. One to watch, especially with a packed diplomatic schedule ahead."
'Real reason' behind the 'slap'
But, what was the reason behind the 'slap' in the first place?
Well, Macron has previously claimed the exchange between himself and Brigitte may not have been what it seemed.
On Monday (26 May), he denied having a domestic dispute with his wife and also blamed disinformation campaigns for trying to put false meaning on the footage.
"My wife and I were squabbling, we were rather joking, and I was taken by surprise," Macron told reporters in Hanoi, per French outlet Le Monde.
He added that the incident has since 'become a kind of planetary catastrophe, and some are even coming up with theories'.
Macron also referred to other incidents, including the images shot on a train to Kyiv where some accounts falsely claimed he shared cocaine with Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, and United Kingdom Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.
France24 reported Macron also said of the situation with Brigitte: "We are horsing around and, really, joking with my wife."
Macron added that the incident had been massively overblown, saying: "It becomes a sort of geo-planetary catastrophe."
His office had also previously offered an explanation, echoing that the couple were just mucking about.
"It was a moment where the president and his wife were decompressing one last time before the start of the trip by horsing around," a statement said. "It’s a moment of complicity. It was all that was needed to give ammunition to the conspiracy theorists."
Tyla has previously reached out to Emmanuel Macron for comment on the lip reader's claims.
Topics: World News, Politics, Sex and Relationships
Rhiannon Ingle