BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Actress and TV personality Collien Fernandes has sparked weeks of debate in Germany over sexualized online violence after accusing her ex-husband of spreading fake pornographic images of her online.

But as Fernandes told Agence France-Presse in an interview, she was initially “hesitant” to file a criminal complaint.

Her lawyer encouraged her to press on, saying that this was the “digital Pelicot case.”

French rape survivor Gisele Pelicot became a symbol of the global fight against sexual violence after waiving her right to anonymity in a case that shocked France and the world.

Pelicot’s now ex-husband Dominique was convicted in 2024 of drugging her and letting scores of men rape her while unconscious.

Her lawyer’s comparison to the Pelicot case “really stuck in my head,” Fernandes told AFP, speaking in a remote interview during a break from filming in Singapore.

“I just thought the whole time: ‘I can’t let him get away with it’,” Fernandes, 44, said.

Fernandes, also known for her work as a TV host and a model, says that for years she has been plagued by fake profiles in her name on social media and falsified explicit images purportedly of her being spread online — which artificial intelligence and other tools have made increasingly believable.