Frustration and hatred online anonymously Kerkeling: Internet battle is "merciless and hateful"
As provincial reporter Horst Schlämmer, he is looking for happiness in a new movie. In his private life, he worries about hate on social media. But some videos even make him forget the world situation.
14.03.2026, 11:59
dpa
Comedian Hape Kerkeling says he finds hate messages on social media merciless. "There is a battle raging on the Internet today that is comparable to the street battles in the Weimar Republic: bloody, merciless and full of hate," the 61-year-old told Stern magazine in a double interview with his colleague Tahnee Schaffarczyk (33).
"The nasty messages I receive are written by people who are such idiots that I feel sorry for them. You have to limit this hatred," Kerkeling continued. Schaffarczyk also finds it "frightening how inflationary people spread their frustration and hatred anonymously online".
Kerkeling enjoys cute animals on the internet. "The cat videos, on the other hand, satisfy me immensely. A quarter of an hour of that and my head is pleasantly muddy and the world situation has disappeared," said the comedian.
Kerkeling and Schaffarczyk can be seen together in the film "Horst Schlämmer sucht das Glück", which will be released in cinemas on March 26. In it, the provincial reporter Schlämmer wants to find out why many people are so unhappy.
