The saga around the TV 2 programme Alle elsker Rasmus (translation: Everyone Loves Rasmus) is far from over, despite the story having been the biggest news item for several days.
The controversial satire programme sees 149 people lie to comedian Rasmus Wallbridge for four months, making him think he has landed the movie deal of his dreams, only to reveal at the end that it was all a prank.
On Sunday, TV 2 announced an investigation into how the show was greenlit and acknowledged that it had dishonestly edited one of the final scenes.
Alle elsker Rasmus
The programme released its first episode on Monday last week and had initially intended to release one episode each week.
However, after several days of criticism, TV 2 decided to release all six episodes on TV 2 Play on Friday.
The following day, the broadcaster took all the episodes down and apologised for the programme it had otherwise been defending for several days.
Criticism from far and wide
Criticism of the programme initially came from a small group of people in the media industry, including Anna Lin, comedian Christian Fuhlendorff, and TV chef Hannah Grant.
Lin’s criticism was especially prominent in much of the news coverage. In an Instagram video, she suggested the programme should have been called “Everyone Bullies Rasmus” instead.
She also noted that, although TV 2 had been clear it received permission from Wallbridge to release the show, financial and career considerations would have made it almost impossible for him to say no.
The show gets pulled
On Saturday, when the show was removed from the platform, TV 2’s programme director Dorthe Thirstrup 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.”
“I look inward and acknowledge that my judgment has simply failed here. This is the judgment that all the participants have relied on, and I am truly sorry about that.
“It was a wrong decision to make the programme the way we did. We have not looked after Rasmus well enough, despite the considerations we had beforehand.”
Others speak out
On Saturday, Rasmus Wallbridge also spoke out in public for the first time, correcting some inaccuracies that had been reported in the media by both TV 2 and Politiken, and noting that he would not like to see the channel make a similar show in the future.
Martin Johannes Larsen, who played a key role in the show, wrote on Instagram: “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.”
Later that day, Minister for Culture Zenia Stampe of the Social Liberals (Radikale Venstre), in a written comment to Ekstra Bladet, wrote: “I am relieved that TV 2 has today itself chosen to take the programme down and admits 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.”
Dishonest editing
On Sunday, comments started circulating on social media that a sequence towards the end of the programme appeared to have been misleadingly edited.
It seemed that a laugh from earlier in the scene had been played over another clip to make it appear that Wallbridge walked out of the revelation laughing.
Instead, celebrity tabloid Se og Hør has reported that Wallbridge walked out in anger, according to multiple sources.
On Sunday evening, TV 2 confirmed that it had reused the sound of a laugh from earlier in the scene.
Investigation into the programme
On Sunday, Ulla Pors, TV 2’s content director, announced that the station will launch an internal investigation into the programme and the processes around it.
She 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.”
Apologies from participants
Saturday and Sunday have seen many of the celebrities who featured in the programme apologise for their roles in it.
Actor Anders W. Berthelsen, in a post on Instagram, acknowledged that he had given the project much consideration before joining, but that he had been assured Wallbridge would love it.
He went on to write: “It is certainly not an excuse, but an explanation. Of course, I myself have full responsibility for having said yes to participating. I should have known better and trusted more in my own judgment.
“I allowed myself to be influenced, and that responsibility is mine alone, and I stand by it. I am sincerely sorry about that, and I apologise many, many times for it.”
Musician Malte Ebert and actress Josephine Højbjerg have also posted apologies for their roles in the production.
