Gloating about para-athletes Sat.1 stops TV show with Luke Mockridge
After his malicious comments about para-athletes, Sat.1 will not broadcast Luke Mockridge's planned TV show.
Image: dpa
Krstina Vogel reacts angrily to Mockridge's statements.
Image: dpa
Para-athlete Niko Kappel has no sympathy for Luke Mockridge's comments.
Image: dpa
After his malicious comments about para-athletes, Sat.1 will not broadcast Luke Mockridge's planned TV show.
Image: dpa
Krstina Vogel reacts angrily to Mockridge's statements.
Image: dpa
Para-athlete Niko Kappel has no sympathy for Luke Mockridge's comments.
Image: dpa
Comedian Luke Mockridge causes a stir again with disparaging comments. His apology doesn't help for the time being, Sat.1 draws consequences for the comedian's new TV show.
08.09.2024, 15:24
dpa
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Comedian Luke Mockridge is causing a stir again with disparaging comments.
- His apology doesn't help for now.
- Sat.1 draws consequences for the comedian's new TV show.
His podcast rants about para-athletes have cost comedian Luke Mockridge a planned TV show on Sat.1. The comedian's mocking comments caused a stir shortly before the Paralympics in Paris came to a close, prompting the private TV station to cancel the launch of the new TV format "Was ist in der Box?" (What's in the box?) with the already controversial 35-year-old planned for September 12.
Even the attempt to apologize did not help Mockridge. "Of course, it was never my intention to ridicule people with disabilities - especially during these great Paralympic Games," the comedian asserted on Instagram.
Sat.1 spokesperson Christoph Körfer said that Mockridge had "publicly and credibly apologized for his inappropriate words". However, the broadcaster hopes that the comedian will find a way to "follow up his apology with action and continue to address the issue in the interests of all people with disabilities and in the interests of all para-athletes who have impressed and enchanted us with their performances in Paris".
Olympic champion Vogel: Statements inconceivable and inhumane
Körfer said that Mockridge's statements were not in line with the broadcaster's values. The mocking sentences come from the podcast "The Germans", which was broadcast back in August, but only received greater attention shortly before the closing ceremony of the Paralympics. "There are people without legs and arms, you throw them into a pool - and whoever drowns last is the winner," Mockridge said, among other things.
Two-time Olympic track cycling champion Kristina Vogel, who is in a wheelchair following a training accident, posted an excerpt from the podcast on Instagram and described Mockridge's words as inconceivable and inhumane.
Shot put world champion and Paris silver medalist Niko Kappel told the German Press Agency: "Luke Mockridge and his two fellow competitors are unlucky that contempt for humanity, ignorance and tastelessness are not Paralympic. Otherwise they would have been able to experience these great games as athletes and would have been hot gold contenders."
Mockridge: Disabled people have a black sense of humor
At the exuberant medal party in the German House on the eve of the Paralympics closing ceremony, the conversations were only marginally about Mockridge. But at home, the debate about the comedian and his TV future was gathering pace. In his new show "Was ist in der Box?", other comedians were asked to guess the mysterious contents of a mysterious box. Sat.1 initially wanted to broadcast eight episodes by the end of October.
Mockridge tried to capture the discussions about his TV future with a rueful statement. "From my own experience working with disabled people, I've always experienced a sharp, black humor that I celebrated. I'm really sorry that I didn't manage to get that across properly and that I hurt people," he wrote: "It also fucks me off that media is talking more about me at the end of these Paralympic Games and not the tournament."
Association recommends Mockridge: watch para-sport
Before the apology, the German Disabled Sports Association (DBS) had responded with an invitation to Mockridge. "We would like to encourage you to watch para-sport live to experience the impressive achievements that people with disabilities are capable of - and to understand what an asset they are to our society."
The comedian assured that he was "very happy" to accept the invitation. He is "looking forward to the change of perspective and to actively learning. Comedy and sport should be fun - always! That didn't work out today, and that's on me," he concluded in his statement.
Before Mockridge's statement, the president of the Berlin Disabled and Rehabilitation Sports Association had spoken of an "unparalleled derailment. This can neither be dismissed as comedy nor as mere stupidity," said Özcan Mutlu. "Such derogatory statements are absolutely unacceptable and deserve harsh condemnation." Mockridge should be deeply ashamed of himself.
Trouble in the TV garden
Mockridge had already caused a stir in the past, including with an irritating appearance on "ZDF-Fernsehgarten". "The jokes that Luke Mockridge made today, however, did not suit either our sense of humor or that of the audience. Unfortunately, there is nothing more to say, the performance speaks for itself," ZDF announced at the time.
Comedian Mockridge was once one of the faces of Sat.1. In August 2021, he announced that he would be taking a break and has hardly appeared on television since then. The planned relaunch on Sat.1 has now been canceled, at least for the time being.