Leaked emails reveal scale of Swedish minister’s bananaphobia

Don’t say it. Don’t say it. Don’t say it … This is bananas!
Swedish tabloid Expressen revealed Wednesday that government officials have been ensuring in advance that all places frequented by Gender Equality Minister Paulina Brandberg are free of bananas — due to the minister’s strong phobia of the yellow fruit.
In several emails seen by Expressen and described and quoted from in its report, Brandberg’s staff specifically ask for any bananas to be removed before official visits.
“Paulina Brandberg has a strong allergy to bananas, so it would be appreciated that there are no bananas in the areas where she will be staying,” states one of the emails from the ministry addressed to the Norwegian Judicial Agency ahead of a VIP lunch, which was met with a positive response.
“It’s sort of an allergy, you could say,” Brandberg told Expressen on Wednesday, then added, “It’s something that I get professional help with” in a follow-up email to the news outlet.
Brandberg’s office did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.
Another email from Brandberg’s team sent to a county administrative board said that “no bananas are allowed on the premises.”
In yet another advance warning, her staff told Swedish Parliament Speaker Andreas Norlén that there should be “no traces of bananas” in the spaces Brandberg would be during a meeting.
The minister herself admitted to having a phobia of bananas in several posts on X in 2020, which appear to have been deleted after the news broke this week.
“I have a phobia of bananas,” wrote Brandberg in one post on Sept. 11, 2020, while in another on Aug. 6, 2020 she said it is the “world’s craziest phobia.” Bananaphobia is not a common ailment, and therefore is not classified officially; but fears of food are categorized as specific, isolated phobias, according to the International Classification of Diseases.