Once again, Jérôme Boateng’s former relationship occupies a court. Specifically, it is about statements by the former national soccer player about his deceased ex-girlfriend Kasia Lenhardt. According to the verdict, he is now not allowed to repeat a certain statement.
The Berlin district court has forbidden former national soccer player Jérôme Boateng to make a statement about his ex-partner Kasia Lenhardt. This was announced by a court spokesman after the around 45-minute hearing on Tuesday.
The verdict came only in the presence of the lawyers. Neither Boateng himself nor Lenhardt’s family appeared in court. Boateng can still appeal.
The mother of the model, who died in February 2021, complained. A few days earlier, the athlete had spoken about his ex-partner in an interview.
After the death of the then 25-year-old, her mother wanted to pursue her interests and prevent the interview from being distributed further. In total, she was concerned with six statements by Boateng. According to the court spokesman, the lawsuit was only successful in one respect.
The mother’s lawyer rated this as a success. “Mr. Boateng has been shown that he cannot afford everything,” said Markus Hennig. He will recommend his client to appeal against the first-instance verdict. It is about further developing the so-called postmortem personality rights. “The previous case law does not take the digital age into account,” emphasized Hennig. So far, the hurdles for the bereaved have been higher than when those affected take action against statements during their lifetime.
In the interview, Boateng spoke, among other things, about disputes in the relationship and his ex-girlfriend’s alcohol problems. The plaintiff argued that his statements falsified her daughter’s picture of life. Boateng’s lawyer had said in the process that the football player regretted the interview.
Lenhardt was a finalist in “Germany’s next top model” in 2012 and was last in a relationship with Boateng. Shortly before his interview appeared, the couple had separated. On February 9, 2021, her family announced through a lawyer that Kasia Lenhardt was dead. The police in Berlin then confirmed an operation in which a lifeless person was found. There are no signs of external influence, it said.
Boateng was recently fined a total of 1.2 million euros for attacks on another ex-girlfriend in Munich. Both he and the public prosecutor appealed against it.
