A celebrity case turned into a state affair: in Germany, the Fernandes case reveals the powerlessness of the law when it comes to digital sexual violence against women.
Between suspicions of pornographic deepfakes and identity theft, the case of former spouses Collien Fernandes and Christian Ulmen, two celebrities from the small and big screen, is inflaming public opinion in Germany and highlighting the German criminal law’s lag on the issue of violence against women.
It was in the March 21st edition of Der Spiegel that the case of Collien Fernandes against Christian Ulmen was exposed. She is a model and TV host. He is a versatile actor, repeatedly honored. Together, they formed, for fourteen years, a star couple apparently without many clouds. Until 2025. In a country that has had few “MeToo” cases, the accusations made by Mrs. Fernandes against her ex-husband have had the effect of a small bomb. She considers herself a victim of “digital rape.” “My body was stolen for years,” she explained to the Hamburg magazine.
