This Ken Kratz Interview Is Weirdly Funny

The Wisconsin prosecutor in Steven Avery's and Brand Dassey's criminal cases later became the villain of the Netflix documentary series Making A Murderer. Although Ken Kratz refused to participate in documentary, his press conferences and court arguments are shown throughout, depicting him as a prosecutor hell-bent on convicting Avery and Dassey for the murder of 25-year-old Teresa Halbach. Comedian Jena Friedman sat down with him in a video for Gothamist, and it is, bizarrely, the funniest depiction of Making a Murderer's Kratz yet.

In the video, Friedman asks Kratz about sexting, the conspiracy theory that he killed Halbach, and to play the game Fuck, Marry, Kill with himself, Dean Strang, and Jerry Buting. Unfortunately, he didn't play the game, and instead turned on Friedman, saying he already knew what her answers would be. "It's pathetic really, the stars that go in your eyes when you talk about Dean Strang," he told her.

Inserting humor into an interview about a murder trial and subsequently a possibly wrongfully convicted man serving life in prison may seem inappropriate, but it did help show the true Kratz. In the beginning of the interview, Kratz admitted that he was a jerk during the trial — partly to help win the case, he noted, and partly because that's who he was — but said he isn't that person any more. However, Friedman's jokes and prodding show viewers that he hasn't changed all that much.

When Friedman asked Kratz if he'd gotten any admirers from the show, as Avery's defense team did, he said no. Friedman noted than even serial killer Ted Bundy had women chasing him, to which Kratz said: "I understand that. I'm not Ted Bundy. I'm not nearly as charming as he is."

Charming is one way to describe Bundy, though I can think of a few less-flattering adjectives as well.

Kratz did make an effort to be more likable and clear his name in the public eye, but his attempts fell flat. In response to Kratz's 2014 sexting scandal involving a domestic abuse victim (for which he was suspended from practicing law for four months) Friedman asked him what adjectives he would use to sext her. After sarcastically calling it a "fantastic question," Kratz replied, "The respect that I have for all women doesn't allow me to go down that road at all. I don't do that any more."

While that's a good answer in theory, it wasn't very believable, and his behavior towards Friedman the entire interview didn't come off as respectful.

In the end, Friedman whips out an Ouija board to find out the truth about Avery's alleged innocence, but unsurprisingly Kratz didn't want to play.

Sometimes poking fun at a serious topic can reveal more than a structured, overly professional interview every could. In talking to Kratz candidly and asking somewhat inappropriate questions, Friedman was able to portray the real Kratz.

Images: Jena Friedman/YouTube