Berlin – Anyone who loves trash TV can no longer avoid Sophia Thomalla on German television.
She is a presenter on the RTL+ reality show “Are you the one” and the dating show “Date or drop”. Without much frills in the language, she criticizes the young candidates in her programs, introduces them and sometimes makes them ridiculous.
Sophia Thomalla: Don’t be afraid of crypto advertising
However, when it comes to her own person, Sophia Thomalla does not like criticism – especially not in public.
At the beginning of January last year, BTC-ECHO reported on a probably well-endowed engagement by Sophia Thomalla in the crypto space. She advertised a dubious company, GSB Gold Standard Pay Ltd. The company is behind the G999 Coin, a supposedly highly innovative cryptocurrency.
Sophia Thomalla was benevolently photographed with the company’s managing director, Josip Heit, who is notorious as a dubious businessman. Its blockchain business model was critically analyzed in the BTC-ECHO article.
Didn’t she know what she was promoting?
The ZDF-heute-Show took Sophia Thomalla’s advertisement for the crypto company as an opportunity and made fun of her and the crypto sector. The Handelsblatt also reported on Thomalla’s advertising commitment.
A little later, the new girlfriend of tennis ace Alexander Zverev (24) demanded a cease and desist from BTC-ECHO.
Through the law firm “IRLE Moser” she wanted to ensure that BTC-ECHO should refrain from writing in the future: “Focus on dubious project G999: What is Sophia Thomalla advertising for?” and: “The German IT girl Sophia Thomalla has been promoting a questionable crypto project since December.”
Was she suddenly embarrassed about promoting G999? Or was she embarrassed not to have researched this company beforehand? Both are still unclear.
Now it goes to court
BTC-ECHO lawyer Severin Riemenschneider from the Media office: “It’s remarkable to want to ban coverage of something documented with publicity photos. This is an encroachment on the freedom of the press.”
BTC-ECHO has not issued the cease and desist letter and will continue to report when celebrities are promoting shady companies.
What does that mean for IT girl Thomalla? She will now have to answer in court for the cease and desist declaration against BTC-ECHO. BTC-ECHO has sued them for encroaching on press freedom.
Attorney Riemenschneider: “It speaks for itself that Ms. Thomalla initially announced legal action in her warning, but never tried to enforce it. When BTC-ECHO went on the offensive, they had their lawyers inform them that they were not authorized to accept service for the lawsuit. Mrs. Thomalla had given the address herself. Apparently she now wants to withdraw from the self-initiated process.”
However, the district court in Frankfurt did not accept this and ruled that the lawsuit had been effectively served. The trial could now take place in June.
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