TV 2 prank on comedian draws international scrutiny
Thursday 5th November 2026 on 21:15 in
Denmark
Coverage of TV 2’s prank on comedian Rasmus Wallbridge has spread across Europe and as far as Russia and India, deepening the broadcaster’s crisis, DR reports.
The controversy followed the release and later removal of Alle elsker Rasmus. British newspapers including The Times, The Sun, the Daily Mail and the Mirror have covered the case. The Times described Wallbridge as having been tricked into filming a “Truman Show”-style experiment without his consent.
The Daily Mail reported that Wallbridge was deceived for four months and said Danish audiences viewed the programme as bullying or torture rather than a psychological experiment. It also noted political reactions, including comments from Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
German news agency dpa, in a report carried by Focus, called the case a television scandal and said Wallbridge had been publicly humiliated for months. Sweden’s SVT interviewed Se og Hør editor-in-chief Niels Pindborg, a prominent critic of the programme. Norway’s NRK reported on its withdrawal, while the Russian outlet Meduza and India’s Hindustan Times also covered the story.
Winni Johansen, a communications professor at Aarhus University who studies crisis communication, said the international attention was worsening TV 2’s situation. It could damage the broadcaster’s reputation more than criticism confined to Denmark and alert its international partners to the problem, she said.
Johansen described the case as a “sticky crisis” involving moral questions that can make it difficult for an organisation to recover. The controversy could prompt wider questions about the media’s ethical standards, she said, adding that TV 2 must explain what went wrong and what it will do to prevent a repeat.
TV 2 has said it will investigate the production of Alle elsker Rasmus. The broadcaster’s viewer editor, Lars Bennike, and its legal department will conduct the inquiry. TV 2’s content director, Ulla Pors, has also said participants and their families have received hate messages and direct threats.