Köln Reporter permitted to report on Kebekus and Somuncu

The online magazine Köln Reporter was permitted to report on a suspected relationship between cabaret artist Carolin Kebekus and cabaret artist Serdar Somuncu.

The online magazine Köln Reporter published a portrait about the cabaret artist Carolin Kebekus and raised the question therein:

"But little is known about Kebekus's private life. Has she had a long-standing affair with the well-known cabaret performer of Turkish descent Serdar Somuncu? No one knows for sure."

Kebekus's manager initially demanded that the magazine remove the passage. After it failed to do so, the online magazinedemanded to cease and desist by counsel. According to the report, Kebekus's privacy was being infringed, as she kept her private life hidden from the public.

At first instance before the Regional Court (LG) Cologne, the cabaret performer was successful (Urteil vom 18.05.2016 – 28 O 417/15).

Court Decision – Reporting on 'relationship' between Kebekus and Somuncu permitted

By means of Judgment of 06.04.2017 (15 U 92/16) the Higher Regional Court of Cologne (OLG Köln) set aside the first instance judgment and dismissed the application for an injunction (press release of 06.04.2017).

The appellate court had to proceed on the assumption that Carolin Kebekus and Serdar Somuncu are even married to one another. The magazine had put forward so many indications of a marriage between the cabaret artists that Kebekus's simple denial that she was at least not married to Mr Somuncu since 2012 was no longer sufficient. Indications of a marriage thus emerged from publicly available information. From a procedural perspective, the marriage of the cabaret artists was therefore to be treated as undisputed.

Proceeding on the assumption that the existence of the marriage was undisputed, the reporting on a 'relationship' between the cabaret artists was permissible. A marriage was to be assigned to the area of the so-called 'private/social sphere'. True facts from the area of the private sphere could generally be reported on. The report on a 'relationship' between the spouses was covered by this right. Nor was there an exception, for instance because Serdar Somuncu treats particularly sensitive topics satirically (including readings of passages from Hitler's 'Mein Kampf') and there might therefore be a risk of violent attacks by neo-Nazis. For Kebekus herself is publicly present in her cabaret activities with corresponding topics (including the video 'Wie blöd du bist').

However, the court also made clear that media may not report on mere 'rumours' without consequences. The decision was characterized by the fact that the journalist, with this 'rumour' – even if he did not (probably) know this at the time of publication – had asserted a true fact from the private sphere. A true factual assertion from the private sphere, however, cannot be prohibited simply because the truth was not apparent to the person making the statement at the time of utterance.

Conclusion

Reporting from the area of the private sphere is permissible provided that the assertions constitute true facts. In the present case, the court had to proceed on the basis of the evidence that there was a marriage between Kebekus and Somuncu, which is why the passage on their 'relationship' in the portrait was permissible in this particular case.