The lawyer for Kasia Lenhardt's family has called the ARD documentary 'Being Jérôme Boateng' tasteless and cruel. The relatives are horrified by the portrayal but choose not to respond publicly to avoid heroizing Boateng. The criticism targets the exploitation of Lenhardt's fate and lack of transparency.
The ARD documentary 'Being Jérôme Boateng' has faced sharp criticism since its release a few weeks ago. Footballer Jérôme Boateng was convicted in 2024 of assault against the mother of his children, yet the program treats this as secondary, criticizes media lawyer Markus Hennig. He represents the family of Boateng's ex-girlfriend Kasia Lenhardt, who also accused the star of violence. Investigations against Boateng were dropped this year due to insufficient evidence, but Lenhardt died in 2021 at age 25 by suicide in Berlin.
Hennig first commented on LinkedIn about the third episode: 'The third episode of 'Being Boateng' is not a journalistic work, but a cynical staging.' He accuses ARD of exploiting Lenhardt's death as an 'emotional turning point for Boateng's narrative.' Additionally, the family was approached for an interview beforehand and declined with a detailed, critical response – this was omitted in the documentary.
In an interview with the 'Tagesspiegel,' Hennig spoke on behalf of the family: 'The family has followed the advice from the start not to become part of the reporting themselves. What would that achieve? It won't bring their daughter back.' The relatives are horrified but do not want to provide a platform for Boateng's heroization. Hennig criticized the use of glamorous model photos of Lenhardt, clashing with her tragedy, and Boateng's 'crocodile tears' after a Bild interview that triggered a hate wave.
ARD has not seriously addressed the criticism, Hennig said. New statistics on violence against women were released just before airing – a contradictory signal. He demands the withdrawal of the documentary. He also views the public processing of the case critically, including a SPIEGEL podcast, as details complicated the court proceedings.
