Far-right leader sues ORF over gay claim
The leader of Austria’s far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) is suing the Austrian National Broadcaster (ORF) after a television soap opera it broadcasts suggested he is gay.
Heinz-Christian Strache is also demanding that the popular show Vorstadtweiber (Austria’s answer to America’s Desperate Housewives) be cancelled.
The offending scene from one episode, in which a character says that Strache is gay, was actually edited out of the final cut that was broadcast - but the text was not deleted from subtitles for deaf or hard of hearing viewers.
"My client is not gay. However, this is irrelevant because his sexual orientation is in any case part of his private life," Strache's lawyer, Michael Rami told the Heute newspaper. However the FPÖ leader clearly feels his rights have been violated and wants the Austrian broadcaster to pay.
According to the Kurier newspaper Rami is also representing Strache in a defamation lawsuit against rapper Nazar, who referred to the FPÖ leader as a “son of a b****” at a concert last week. Strache is demanding damages of €35,000.
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Heinz-Christian Strache is also demanding that the popular show Vorstadtweiber (Austria’s answer to America’s Desperate Housewives) be cancelled.
The offending scene from one episode, in which a character says that Strache is gay, was actually edited out of the final cut that was broadcast - but the text was not deleted from subtitles for deaf or hard of hearing viewers.
"My client is not gay. However, this is irrelevant because his sexual orientation is in any case part of his private life," Strache's lawyer, Michael Rami told the Heute newspaper. However the FPÖ leader clearly feels his rights have been violated and wants the Austrian broadcaster to pay.
According to the Kurier newspaper Rami is also representing Strache in a defamation lawsuit against rapper Nazar, who referred to the FPÖ leader as a “son of a b****” at a concert last week. Strache is demanding damages of €35,000.
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