The Swedish Minister for Gender Equality and Working Life has a fear of bananas that prevents her from approaching the popular yellow fruit.
Minister Paulina Brandberg first mentioned her banana phobia in a since-deleted tweet from 2020, describing it as “the strangest phobia in the world.”
“I have a phobia of bananas,” Brandberg wrote in a post on September 11th, 2020, while in another tweet on August 6th, 2020, she referred to it as “the craziest phobia in the world.”
Banana phobia is not a common condition and is therefore not officially classified, but food-related fears are categorized as specific, isolated phobias according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
However, the Swedish minister’s irrational fear recently resurfaced and made headlines in Sweden’s national daily news. This happened after Swedish media published a series of leaked emails revealing her aversion to the yellow fruit.
Brandberg’s staff has taken extensive measures to ensure the 41-year-old politician does not come into contact with bananas. Her team sends messages to people and venues ahead of scheduled events to inform them of her phobia.
In several emails, Brandberg’s staff specifically requests that all bananas be removed before official visits.
“Paulina Brandberg has a severe allergy to bananas, so it would be good if there are no bananas in the areas she will be present,” reads one email sent by the ministry to the Norwegian Justice Agency ahead of a VIP lunch, which received a positive response.
“We will ensure the conference is free of bananas,” Brandberg’s staff confirmed in another email, demonstrating their commitment to protecting the Swedish minister.
Paulina Brandberg declined to comment on her unusual phobia but confirmed that it is an issue for her and that she plans to seek medical advice about it in the near future.
Banana phobia is rare but can trigger severe symptoms such as anxiety and nausea, and it can be provoked by simply seeing or smelling the fruit.
