NRK apologizes for Markus Neby’s joke

NRK’s ​​new Christmas calendar “24 star Christmas calendar” is currently rolling across TV screens around the country.

The program is led by Markus Neby (31).

During episode 16 of the calendar, the challenge the celebrities faced was to find a fridge in a pitch-dark room, and taste various leftovers. When the participants managed to identify the potato in the fridge, the competition was over.

– Just like in Ireland in 1845: Sisteman until the potato has lost, said the presenter ahead of the competition.

The presenter’s joke has caused several people to react. On Twitter, for example, there are statements that NRK should apologize for the episode, on the basis that Neby is “joking” about the famine in Ireland, which lasted from 1845 to 1849.

During the disaster, between one and three million people died of starvation.

Now NRK apologizes.

– We have received a couple of complaints about this that indicate that this is still painful for many and should not be joked about, says project editor for the Christmas calendar, Mirja Minjares, to Dagbladet, and adds:

– We are sorry for having offended people with this remark, it was not our intention. We didn’t react to it along the way, as it pointed to a tragedy that happened so long ago.

Furthermore, she says that they nevertheless understand that the case is perceived differently by others, and that they regret that they did not understand the depth of the trauma.