Collien Fernandes and Christian Ulmen and the Problem With German Humor

Audio 26

Tobias Haberkorn and Lauren Oyler discuss the scandal that has consumed the German media: comedian Christian Ulmen stands accused by his ex-wife, TV presenter Collien Fernandes, of stealing her identity, creating fake social media accounts, and engaging in sexually charged conversations with men in her name — what she calls digital sexual violence. They discuss what Ulmen's brand of misogynist humor reveals about German comedy culture, why the reckoning arrived later here than elsewhere, what the case says about the blurry line between autofiction and real life, and what Collien's defiant public response signals about how women are expected to perform victimhood. They also talk about the political fallout, the push for new legislation on digital abuse, and what it means that these alleged crimes were hidden in plain sight.

Read Lauren Oyler's novel Fake Accounts: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374600433/fakeaccounts

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Airlift is produced in the Studio of Jacobin Germany. Hosted by Tobias Haberkorn, Editor of Berlin Review.