Durek Verrett, the self-appointed “shaman” who’s romantically involved with Norway’s Princess Martha Louise, has now apologized for “generalizing Norwegians” when he reacted angrily to how local publishing companies won’t put out his new book. In it, Verrett claims that cancer is “self-inflicted” and a result of not wanting to live any longer.
“I made some mistakes when I said that Norway had banned the book,” Verrett said in a video published by broadcaster NRK. “It was a misunderstanding. It was the publishers who pulled the book, so I want to apologize for that.”
Verrett said he also wanted to apologize for grouping Norwegians all in one clump. “It’s not all of Norway that has an issue (with him),” Verrett said, adding that “Norway is a beautiful country with beautiful people, and of course my girlfriend, as you know, is the princess of Norway, so of course I have a lot of respect and love, you know, for the country.”
His comments came after he posted a scathing attack on Norway and especially the Norwegian media for reporting how publishing firm Cappelen Damm had decided to halt publication of his new book because of some “problematic” portions that “also can be hurtful for people who have family and friends with the disease (cancer).” Knut Ola Ulvestad, head of Cappelen Damm, said neither he nor his staff had read Verrett’s controversial book “carefully enough” when they’d first received its text.
“We have now, and have decided that it can’t be released,” Ulvestad told newspaper Dagbladet. Cappelen Damm had purchased the rights to publish it last spring after a bidding round. Other Norwegian publishers have since lost interest n the book also, while doctors and cancer researchers have objected mightily to Verrett’s claims in it.
Verrett initially blamed the media for the book’s rejection, claiming in his rant on social media that media outlets were bullying him “and my girlfriend (Martha Louise) … to sell newspapers. That’s sad. You don’t want folks to know the truth.”
‘Learning how to understand the Norwegian people…’
Now he’s blaming at least part of the “misunderstanding” on his background “from Hawaii and California … so our way of dealing with things is very different. But I’m learning how to understand more (about) the Norwegian people, and I hope they can make space for me, to learn more about me as well, and be more loving in our growth of learning about each other and knowing about each other.”
It’s been the latest controversy involving the daughter of King Harald V, this time more indirectly. She’s been criticized for years for using her “princess” title when launching her own spiritual and self-help programs, and writing several books, some of them aimed at helping people get in touch with their own alleged angels.
When she became involved with Verrett following her divorce from a celebrity Norwegian author, their first string of public appearances entitled “The princess and the shaman” also sparked immediate criticism because of how she once again was accused of commercially exploiting her royal title.
The palace fnally issued a short statement in August that the princess had, after “consultation with her family,” decided that she will no longer use her royal title in her business ventures. “The princess will continue to use her title when she represents the royal family and in private connections, but will use her name (Märtha Louise) when she operates income-generating ventures.”
newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund
