Imagine being lied to by 149 people for four months, being told your dream is coming true, being secretly recorded during the whole process, and then finding out it’s all been a set-up.
That’s what comedian Rasmus Wallbridge experienced in a new, much-discussed satire programme on TV 2 called Alle elsker Rasmus (translated: Everyone Loves Rasmus).
The programme is now receiving heavy criticism for its premise from several prominent figures in the Danish media world.
Alle elsker Rasmus
The programme sees Wallbridge being tricked by a long list of prominent people in the Danish entertainment world into thinking that his dream of directing a Danish version of Scary Movie is coming true.
At the centre of the lie is TV personality Martin Johannes Larsen, one of Wallbridge’s close friends, who played a key role in orchestrating it.
In the programme, viewers follow Wallbridge being convinced that the movie is getting produced and that a handful of famous actors sign on to the project. The lie lasts for roughly four months.
The first episode of the programme was released on TV 2 Play on Monday, with the remaining five episodes all released on the platform on Thursday.
The initial plan had been for a new episode to be released every week. However, following the criticism of the show, TV 2 released all six episodes on Thursday.
In an article on TV 2 Echo, TV 2 says, “To give greater insight into the making of the programme, TV 2 has now chosen to publish all six episodes of the programme on TV 2 Play.”
“Completely absurd and rotten”
Amongst the public figures who have criticised the programme is TV chef Hannah Grant, who spoke to TV 2 Echo.
Here, she said, “It is completely absurd and rotten that a nationwide TV station thinks it’s okay to deceive people, lie to them, and gaslight them in order to make entertainment.”
Comedian Christian Fuhlendorff also chimed in on the case in a post on Facebook, where he wrote that he hoped to see Wallbridge come out of the prank programme strengthened.
However, he also went on to write, “I hope the programme has consequences for those who had the editorial and ethical responsibility. That an editor or two will have to find a new job, that certain production companies will find it significantly harder to sell their next idea.”
TV host Anna Lin also chimed in on a post on Instagram. Here, she notes that producers had put Wallbridge in a position where he could not say no to allowing the programme to be aired given the set-up.
She also suggests that the programme should have instead been called Alle mobber Rasmus (translated: Everyone Bullies Rasmus).
TV 2 responds
TV 2 has responded to the widespread criticism of the programme through a written statement from programme editor Mads Elias Højbjerg Ravn to B.T..
He wrote, “It is an unusual programme that has not been made before, and it challenges some of the frameworks we normally associate with entertainment. We have, of course, had many considerations along the way.”
In the statement, he also added, “We are of course listening to the debate about the programme, and we fully understand that it is causing reactions.”
TV 2 says Wallbridge could have said no to publication, and that he took part in the editing and approved the final episodes.
Wallbridge declined to be interviewed by TV 2 Echo, and Larsen has not replied to TV 2.
