Over the past two weeks, one story has filled the Danish media more than anything else.
It’s not the American midterms, the continued meltdown of Venstre, or the frightening threats against Europe’s aircraft and refrigerators.
No, it’s a prank show on TV 2 called Alle elsker Rasmus (in English: Everyone Loves Rasmus).
The Danish Dispatch has dedicated a lot of time to this story, and followed developments closely as they’ve taken place. However, all this coverage can sometimes be a bit difficult to follow.
So, in this article, we take you through the whole scandal from start to finish (or at least where we are now), so you can continue to be a part of the conversation.
What is the programme?
Alle elsker Rasmus is a prank satire programme that premiered on TV 2 last month.
The show follows comedian Rasmus Wallbridge as 149 people lie to him for four months, making him think he landed his dream movie deal.
Wallbridge is led to believe that he is working with Nordisk Film to produce a Danish version of the Scary Movie franchise, something he had wanted to do for many years.
At the end of the programme, it is revealed to Wallbridge that it was all just a lie and that the movie deal was never real.
At the centre of the lie is his close friend and collaborator Martin Johannes Larsen. Along for the ride were actors like Casper Christensen, Anders W. Berthelsen, and Josephine Højbjerg as well as musician Malte Ebert.
Why was it so controversial?
After the release of the first episode, several prominent figures in the Danish media industry came out to criticise the programme.
This included TV chef Hannah Grant, comedian Christian Fuhlendorff, and perhaps most notoriously TV presenter Anna Lin.
Lin, in a post on Instagram, said that she thought the programme amounted to bullying Wallbridge.
She also worried that, although Wallbridge agreed for the programme to be aired, he may have felt pressured to agree to this by TV 2.
Participants apologise
In the aftermath of the criticism, TV 2 apologised for the programme and took it down from streaming on Saturday.
Dorthe Thirstrup, TV 2’s programme director, wrote in a press release, “I would like to offer an unconditional apology to Rasmus Wallbridge and the participants in the programme Alle elsker Rasmus.”
On the same day, Wallbridge also made his only public statement regarding the programme, noting that he would encourage TV 2 not to make similar programmes in the future.
Martin Johannes Larsen also apologised for his role in the show on Instagram, writing, “Rasmus is my good friend and close collaborator, and that is why I can only emphasise that I never intended to hurt him.
“Have I not been attentive enough to the consequences a project like this could have? Apparently not.”
Quickly, a large number of participants released apologies too. This included Malte Ebert, Anders W. Berthelsen, and Josephine Højbjerg.
The Minister for Culture, Zenia Stampe of the Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre), also came out on the Saturday when TV 2 pulled the show to share her support for the retraction.
To Ekstra Bladet, she commented, “I am relieved that TV 2 has itself chosen today to take the programme down and admitted that its judgment has failed.
“Now I hope that they will use their efforts to help Rasmus Wallbridge move on after the distasteful psychological experiment they have subjected him to, and that they will also follow his suggestion never to do it again.”
Internal investigation
On Sunday, TV 2 announced that it would launch an internal investigation into how Alle elsker Rasmus had been allowed to be greenlit.
Ulla Pors, TV 2’s content director, told Ritzau: “We must now get to the bottom of the mistakes that have clearly been made in the process with the series.
“Justified criticism of TV 2 has been raised on several fronts, and we naturally take that criticism to heart. The series should not have been made and should therefore never have been released.”
On Sunday, it was also confirmed that the editors of the programme had reused a laugh sound clip from earlier in the scene to make it seem like Wallbridge walked off laughing, while Se og Hør instead reported that he walked away in anger.
On the same day, Stampe also called for the findings of the report to be made public.
At the start of this week, several prominent politicians also came out strongly criticising the show.
This included the leader of Liberal Alliance, Alex Vanopslagh, who in a much-shared post on Instagram wrote, “It is absurd that so many people have contributed to deceiving a single person and afterwards turned it into something for others to be entertained by.
“I haven’t spoken to anyone about this yet who doesn’t instantly think it’s a completely crazy concept.”
The Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen of the Social Democrats (Socialdemokratiet), shared her criticism of Alle elsker Rasmus, saying, “I have no need to watch it. I hope this provides food for thought regarding what the media produces.”
Across the political spectrum, from the Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) to the Denmark Democrats (Danmarksdemokraterne), politicians criticised the show.
The media world feels the effect
An adjacent controversy arose when Malte Ebert released a song last Friday that had been featured in the programme.
However, following controversy over this move, he pulled it from streaming this Monday and apologised for the release.
He wrote on Instagram, “The song was originally written for my fiancée and not for the series. It therefore holds a personal meaning for me. But that doesn’t change the fact that it is now connected to a show I cannot stand behind.”
Other consequences arose for TV 2 when several prominent figures, including Hannah Grant and baker Tobias Hamann, said they would not be appearing on the channel’s morning programme Go’ Morgen Danmark.
Martin Johannes Larsen’s central role in Alle elsker Rasmus has also had consequences for his career. On Thursday, he announced he would no longer be appearing on the New Year’s programme Nytårsfesten.
The story travels across the globe
The Danish Dispatch’s coverage of the programme and ensuing scandal has received significant attention outside of Denmark.
Since then, news media across Europe have also picked up on the story, including outlets in Sweden, Norway, and Germany.
Questions remain
Many significant questions around the story remain unanswered, and these will likely be looked into through the investigation.
This includes what Wallbridge was offered to allow for the programme to be released, who was involved in the greenlighting process, and how the decision was taken.
It is still unknown whether the investigation’s findings will be made public and whether any elements will be kept private.
Wallbridge has also remained largely quiet on the issue. He is currently on a stand-up tour across Denmark, where he has received standing ovations and made subtle comments. However, his full perspective remains unknown.
