For years, Collien Fernandes, a German actress and television personality, wondered who was impersonating her online and spreading pornographic images that were falsely said to be of her.
Ms. Fernandes led campaigns for tougher restrictions on “deepfake” imagery, filmed a documentary about the issue and filed a complaint to the German police about her experience.
Now, Ms. Fernandes has come forward to say that two years ago she found the perpetrator, or at least one of them: her husband, Christian Ulmen, from whom she separated last year.
In social media posts and an interview with the German newsmagazine, Der Spiegel, Ms. Fernandes said that Mr. Ulmen had secretly opened online accounts in her name, using them to post pornographic images and initiate online affairs with men who believed they were talking to her.
Mr. Ulmen’s lawyer said in a public statement that Der Spiegel’s report was “unlawful for several reasons,” adding that it contained “untrue facts” based on a “one-sided account.” The lawyer did not respond to a request for further comment.
The accusations have shocked Germany, where the couple had long been one of the most prominent in the national entertainment industry.
Ms. Fernandes’s case has been compared to that of Gisèle Pelicot, a Frenchwoman who testified publicly in court against her ex-husband and dozens of men who had raped her while she was drugged.
Who is Ms. Fernandes?
Ms. Fernandes, 44, has been a fixture of German film and television for decades. She has appeared regularly onscreen as an actor, as a host and panelist on game shows and talk shows, and as a presenter of news documentaries.
In 2011, she married Mr. Ulmen, now 50, also an actor. For more than a decade, they were seen as one of Germany’s golden couples, appearing together in commercials and a long-running comedy show.
In one promotion for an online pharmacy, the couple were shown in bed talking about digestion problems. In another advertisement for a television channel, they appeared alongside German national soccer players.
What are Ms. Fernandes’s accusations?
Ms. Fernandes said that Mr. Ulmen impersonated her online for more than a decade, sending hundreds of fake images and initiating online relationships with 30 men.
In some cases, Ms. Fernandes said, those relationships involved phone sex in which the perpetrator used computer-generated audio to impersonate her voice.
The abuse continued, she said in an Instagram post, even as she filmed a two-part documentary in 2024 about deepfake abuse, in which she discussed her own experience.
According to Ms. Fernandes, Mr. Ulmen confessed to her in 2024 that he was her secret abuser — after she reported the abuse to the police. Apart from the statement issued through his lawyer, Mr. Ulmen has not responded publicly.
How has Germany responded?
Amid a national outcry, Stefanie Hubig, Germany’s justice minister, has announced that she is accelerating efforts to explicitly criminalize the production and distribution of sexualized deepfakes and other abusive online material.
Parliament also held an impromptu debate about online attacks on women and girls. Lena Gumnior, a lawmaker from the center-left Green Party who has long campaigned for tougher legislation, said in the debate that politicians had not done enough to prevent the abuse. “Millions of women are left to cope with their experiences of violence on their own,” she said.
Demonstrators in several cities including Berlin also echoed Ms. Fernandes’s calls for tighter restrictions.
Ms. Fernandes said that she had filed a new criminal complaint against her husband in Spain, where the couple lived for years. She believed the Spanish authorities would be more effective than their German counterparts, because, she said during a broadcast interview, women’s rights are stronger there.
Christopher F. Schuetze is a reporter for The Times based in Berlin, covering politics, society and culture in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
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