A Swedish minister, Paulina Brandberg, has imposed a special condition on official working visits. There must be no trace of bananas in the rooms where the minister for gender equality comes. She has a banana phobia.
Brandberg in a post on X in 2020, reports the British broadcaster BBC. She then spoke of ‘the strangest phobia’, although the post has since been deleted.
Internal emails
The local newspaper Expressen reports that the minister has a ‘strong allergy’ to the fruit. There should therefore be no bananas in places where the minister visits.
The minister told the newspaper in a response that it is indeed a phobia, but that she gets a ‘kind of allergic reaction’ from the fruit. She would also get professional help for it.
According to the BBC, a banana phobia can be triggered by the sight or smell of the fruit and can cause feelings of anxiety and nausea, among other things.
