German actress and TV presenter Collien Fernandes alleges the person behind the years-long online abuse she’s faced is her now ex-husband, Christian Ulmen.
As reported by The New York Times, Fernandes was subjected to online abuse from various accounts on social media for years. The posts impersonated her and shared fake explicit material. She’s since revealed that two years ago, she discovered that Ulmen is behind some of the vitriol.
In an interview with German publication Der Spiegel, she said that Ulmen, from whom she separated last year and divorced last month, opened several online accounts in her name and used them to share pornographic images and talk with at least 30 men. Ulmen, in a statement released by his lawyers Christian Schertz and Simon Bergmann, denied the accusations.
The spread of fake pornographic material of Fernandes sparked widespread outrage in Germany, and she has repeatedly campaigned for authorities to do more to combat “deepfake” imagery. She also filmed a documentary about the abuse she and other women have faced, and filed a report to police.
She claims that he confessed to being her online abuser in 2024 after she reported the incidents. “My body was stolen for years,” she said in her interview with Der Spiegel. “I want this to stop… You raped me virtually.” She also alleged that Ulmen used an AI voice changer to impersonate her voice to engage in phone sex with several of the men he talked to online.
In America, deepfake pornography skirted revenge porn laws for some time but is now illegal under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, although usually intent to harm must be proven.
