Czech Govt Human Rights Commissioner calls for "reality" show to be cancelled after participant hangs himself, director who forced him to say antigypsyist things has been convicted
A District Court in Opava, Czech Republic has convicted the director of the reality TV show "Wife Swapping" (Výměna manželek) for his indirect role in the suicide of a local police officer who participated in the program. The director forced the officer to make racist remarks against a Romani woman playing the role of his "substitute wife" on the show.
Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Klára Laurenčíková said the program has long been unethical and that it is especially traumatizing to children. The trial reviewed events from the year 2020, when the episode of “Wife Swapping” was filmed, but ultimately never broadcast.
During the episode, a Romani woman from Olomouc was “swapped” for the wife of a police officer from Slavkov in the Opava area. Although there was distrust between them in the beginning, their relationship gradually improved.
On the eighth day of filming, the police officer committed suicide by hanging himself, leaving a farewell letter. According to his sons’ testimony, the director, Jan B., had pressured their father into making racist remarks to make the program more attractive.
“The director asked questions and did his best to back him into a corner, he was threatened with a fine if the filming had to stop. My father said something on camera against Romani people and it was meant to sound like he was a racist. He feared criminal prosecution. Then he began to be afraid they would fire him from his job for it,” one of the police officer’s sons told news server Denik.cz.
According to assessments, the officer was not suffering from any mental disorders. Before he died, he contacted his superior officer over his concern that he would be prosecuted and then lose his job because of the filmed material. The director has been sentenced to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years. The verdict has yet to take effect and the defendant has appealed.
Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner criticizes “Wife Swapping” as harmful and unethical
Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková, who has long criticized the program, has issued a sharp statement. “I have long considered the ‘Wife Swapping’ program to be absolutely unethical. It exploits impoverished families and their unmanaged problems to entertain the general public. It artificially boosts conflicts and dramas in which, in many cases, even very young children are involved during live broadcasts,” she posted to social media.
Laurenčíková warned that children who perform on the program subsequently become the targets of bullying. She said the suicide that the director contributed to through his pressure was “pure evil”.
“It’s good the court recognized that fact. I believe TV Nova will immediately cancel this perverse program,” posted Šimáčková Laurenčíková.
The Czech Government Human Rights Commissioner recalled that the Czech Government Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Office of the Public Defender of Rights had repeatedly tried to intervene with regard to the reality show, without success. “Every child has the right to protection of their safety and their privacy. Even those whose parents don’t see the risks of taking the opposite approach still have that right. In such situations the state must protect the children instead of the parents. Unfortunately, we have long failed on that point. We must not prolong this state of affairs,” Šimáčková Laurenčíková posted.
