In 2001, violinist Linda Lampenius found herself in an uncomfortable position, compelled to take out a full-page advertisement in Ilta-Sanomat. The goal? To persuade now-convicted sex offender Peter Nygård to retract his defamation claims against her.
This recent turn of events has come to light through Suomen Kuvalehti, reporting that Sanoma Media Finland is planning to reimburse Lampenius for the hefty sum she paid for the ad—a cost that has lingered more than two decades.
The conflict dates back to 1997, when Lampenius made remarks during a trip to California that involved an unsettling encounter with Nygård. She cautioned against sending young Finnish women to his residence, stating in a subsequent interview with the magazine 7 Days that Nygård had shown her disturbing photographs of naked women taken at his villa.
At the time, the advertisement set her back 35,000 Finnish marks, equivalent to nearly 9,000 euros today.
In a tragic twist of fate, Nygård, once a celebrated figure in the fashion world, faced a Canadian court in 2024, where he was convicted on multiple counts of sexual assault spanning from the 1980s to the mid-2000s.
Pia Kalsta, CEO of Sanoma, confirmed to Suomen Kuvalehti that while they intend to move forward with the reimbursement, details will still need to be ironed out with Lampenius.