Being wrongfully implicated in the Panama Papers scandal in a recently-released Netflix film has been “painful and unbearable” according to Progressive Party Chairman Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson. A picture of the MP appears in the film The Laundromat, which was released on Netflix this past weekend, in connection with the Panama Papers. Sigurður Ingi himself did not appear in the Panama Papers. Then-Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð, however, did, and Sigurður Ingi took over as Prime Minister following Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson’s resignation in the wake of the scandal.
According to Vísir, The Laundromat features a screenshot of a Time article which reports that Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson has resigned due to his name appearing in the Panama Papers. The article’s headline states that Sigurður Ingi has taken over the position and a picture of him appears with the article. No picture of Sigmundur Davíð appears in the film.
In a Facebook post about his unexpected appearance, Sigurður Ingi expresses his disappointment that his picture appears amid a discussion of “corrupt national leaders. As is undoubtedly fresh in people’s memory, the course of events was such that when then-Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð’s assets came to light in Mossack Fonseca’s tax havens, he was forced to resign. These were difficult times in Icelandic politics and Icelanders full of righteous anger and therefore a great challenge to sit in the Prime Minister’s chair,” Sigurður Ingi wrote. “Although I find it painful and unbearable to be connected to this corruption case in The Laundromat, the film will hardly be changed because of that.”
The MP thanked those who had written to him about the film, stating that some had even written to Netflix of their own accord to complain about Sigurður Ingi’s misrepresentation in the film.
