Secret celeb gossip list revealed

A politically incorrect mailing list in which influential Swedes insult and gossip about other celebrities has been exposed by Dagens Nyheter. Members of the ‘Elit’ list, who include leading journalists, TV presenters and academics, are encouraged by leader Alexander Bard to spread “evil, dirt, gossip and slander.”

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The existence of the list was revealed by freelance journalist Mustafa Can. He claims that Bard, former member of the band Army of Lovers, encourages Elit members to reveal where the best drugs are available, who has slept with whom, who has snorted the most cocaine at celebrity parties and other scandals.

Well-known names on the list include TV presenter Adam Alsing, comedian Mikael Tornvig and political commentator Stig-Björn Lundgren.

Svenska Dagbladet’s film reviewer Jan Söderqvist sent out an email to the list remarking that Dagen’s Nyheter’s Hanne Kjöller was “a fucking dumb fat-so”. This came after Kjöller had written a column in DN in which she took issue with an article he had written in NEO magazine.

Other contributions to the list included an email to the former marketing manager of football magazine Offside, Hermann Dill, in which he was challenged to reveal the best endowed member of the Swedish national football team. Specifically, he was asked to review the penises of Zlatan Imbrahimovic, Fredrik Ljungberg and a number of other leading Swedish footballers.

Can asks how “people with their position can be members of a secret list where insults, accusations, hatred and persecution is encouraged.”

Alexander Bard rejected the idea that there was anything improper about the list.

“What age are you living in?” he told Expressen.

“Everyone’s on a mailing list these days – there’s no difference between this and other lists.”

The paper asked what he thought of an entry in which a member said that a tabloid columnist should be shot: “murder, murder murder, KILL! KILL! KILL!”. Bard said the entry was ironic.

“People who don’t understand that have no sense of humour.”

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