– Really hope Sophie Elise has some good people around her now

The much talked about and debated Instagram photo of Sophie Elise Isachsen (28) has led to a record number of complaints to NRK. In Thursday’s episode of “Sophie and Fetisha”, the influencer speaks for the first time after the row.

Here she explains, among other things, why she has not said anything until now.

– No matter what you say, it seems calculated. That I don’t sit here and cry is wrong; if I cried, it’s wrong.

She also says that it is “I who have done this”, and that she has experienced in the last week being part of the “cancel culture”.

Isachsen talks about a week that has been very difficult, but that she still does not feel sorry for herself.

– Not sure if she is worth it

Communications adviser Hans-Petter Nygård-Hansen is unsure whether Isachsen is benefited by this.

– I think that by not saying more than exactly what she is saying now, she is setting fire to the fire that was about to go out. I have noticed that much of the storm was about to subside, and I am not sure if she is worthy of this. I think she would have been better served by putting all her cards on the table, he says to Good Evening Norway.

However, Nygård-Hansen emphasizes that it is easy for a communications advisor to speak from the sidelines.

– I do not know whether there is an agreement between her and NRK. I know nothing about the situation of the friend who was pictured. But this helps to increase speculation, and it will in turn make it even more difficult, once she chooses to tell the whole story, to get people to believe what she says.

To VG says Rune Lind, editor-in-chief at NRK Entertainment, that the duo as usual talk about how they have been in the last week. However, NRK has concluded that they should not talk about the incident in question in the podcast, as Isachsen has not commented on this to other media.

– The matter has great public interest and it would be wrong to use the podcast for what could be perceived as a one-sided narrative, he tells the newspaper.

Will give her one piece of advice

Nygård-Hansen sees no problem with the fact that it is in his own podcast that the influencer first speaks after the silence, but he wants to give her one piece of advice along the way when she now has to consider what to do next.

– If I were her adviser now, I would not recommend her to give the first big interview to Lindmo. Then it seems very directed. The only room she should take it out in is probably where it started. On Instagram. But then a crazy well-thought-out crisis communication plan should be put in place for how it will be handled when she puts all her cards on the table, he says.

Nygård-Hansen agrees with Isachsen that she is faced with a cancellation culture.

– We cannot, based on this photo, say that she has broken a single law. But she has crossed the line in terms of public opinion on social media, and what they think is okay and not okay. And it is a growing problem in today’s society. Fewer and fewer are participating with their vote, out of fear of precisely this culture of cancellation.

However, he thinks the worst thing is that Sophie Elise Isachsen says in today’s episode that the uproar after the Insta picture has taught her that “we will all one day face death”.

– Sitting as a person in this country and facing so much shit, it must feel incredibly tough. The fact that she says that she has thought about the fact that we will all die one day is perhaps the worst part of this, I think. The whole culture of cancellation, where we’re scrambling to comment on how awful Sophie Elise is, only turns around when a person passes away. I really hope that she has some good people around her now, says Nygård-Hansen.

Divided opinions

The experts are divided on how well Isachsen handled the situation in today’s podcast.

Mathilde Hogsnes, research fellow at Kristiania College, researches influencers’ commercial practices in Scandinavia. She thinks it is good that Isachsen is finally putting the situation into words.

– I have previously reacted to the fact that she has not mentioned anything. It’s about showing the followers respect, says Hogsens.

She understands that Isachsen does not go into detail now, but she thinks she could recognize the responsibility she has as an influencer with enormous influence.

– What surprises me most about today’s podcast statement is what she says about the cancellation culture. She says people want her to lose her job because they don’t like her. Then you haven’t realized that you are a company, you influence with power. I’m disappointed there, because it’s an abdication of responsibility. I find that she does not take the core of the matter seriously.

Both she and Nygård-Hansen believe that Isachsen should also have spoken on the platform where it all started, namely on Instagram.

Missing an apology

Rhetoric Andreas Birger Johansen believes today’s statement from Sophie Elise Isachsen is a promising start.

– She takes full responsibility for what she has done. She does not make a defense speech, but she acknowledges that she has done something that has created this situation. I was a little surprised, because it was a mature way to handle it.

He still misses a clear “apology” from the influencer.

– She has not come up with an apology yet. Those who appear as an authentic person who has screwed up have a greater chance of being forgiven by the people, he says.

Johansen does not react to Isachsen speaking out in her own podcast when she first chooses to say something.

– It is her podcast, more than NRK. The listener listens to her wherever she is. She has not spoken to NRK Nyheter either.

Good evening Norway tried again on Thursday to get a comment from Sophie Elise, so far without success. She has continued to answer questions from the press after the much-discussed photo was shared on Instagram