Michel Friedman

His parents and his grandmother were Schindlerjuden, i.e. Oskar Schindler had recruited them for slave labor, thereby rescuing them from a concentration camp.

After qualifying as a lawyer in 1988, Friedman became a partner in an international law firm specializing in financial and media matters.

His talk show Auf ein Wort premiered on Deutsche Welle in 2017.

[2] In January 2025, Friedman had told Tagesspiegel of his shock and criticised Elon Musk's salute shameful,[3] noting, "the breaking of taboos is reaching a point that is dangerous for the entire free world.

[4] Friedman announced he would be leaving the CDU in January 2025, following the party's collaboration with the far-right AfD in attempting to pass a controversial immigration bill.

In response, Deutsche Welle Director-General Peter Limbourg condemned Turkey for the seizure of the video tape as "a blatant violation of press freedom.

[12] However, since he did not apologise to the forced prostitutes themselves (keeping silent about the nature of his "mistake"), the German women's rights organisation Terre des Femmes and others strongly criticised Friedman's speech.

[13] Since July 2004 Friedmann has been married to Bärbel Schäfer, a former German TV celebrity.