The comedian Luke Mockridge has made negative headlines. © APA/afp / TOBIAS SCHWARZ

Scandal: Comedian mocks para-athletes

Once again, there is a lot of controversy surrounding comedian and television presenter Luke Mockridge. He has attracted criticism for some of his statements about para-athletes.

September 07, 2024

From: dpa

In a podcast, the 35-year-old mocked athletes at the Paralympic Games, causing great outrage. The comedian said in the podcast "The Germans": "There are people without legs and arms, you throw them into a pool - and whoever drowns last wins."

Kristina Vogel, a two-time Olympic track cycling champion who is in a wheelchair, reacted with horror and described the statements as "unbelievable". The German Disabled Sports Association (DBS) does not want to give Mockridge a large platform - and responded to the mockery with an invitation. Mockridge had previously revealed his thoughts on the origins of the Paralympics. "It's crazy: the first person to call another country and say: 'Hey, you know the Olympic Games. I have a similar idea. You also have disabled people in your country. Should we see who is faster?'" he said.

DBS responds with statement

The DBS responded to a request from the German Press Agency in a statement. "We would like to encourage people to watch para-sports live in order to experience the impressive achievements that people with disabilities are capable of - and to understand what an enrichment they are for our society," the statement said. They did not want to devote any greater attention to the contribution.

Mockridge's statements have now become a topic of discussion because Vogel, shocked, has spoken out on her Instagram channel. "For the question of why people talk their heads off because there are still people who say such inhumane sh** and just put down disabled people. Here is just one example, it is unbelievable," wrote Vogel, who is paralyzed from the waist down after a training accident. She also shared the clip with Mockridge's statements that she uploaded about three weeks ago.

Trouble in the TV garden

Mockridge has already been in the spotlight in the past. Among other things, he caused trouble with an irritating appearance on the "ZDF-Fernsehgarten". "However, the jokes that Luke Mockridge told today were neither our sense of humor nor that of the audience. Unfortunately, there is nothing more to say, the performance speaks for itself," ZDF said at the time.

Luke Mockridge has already made negative headlines in the past.

The comedian Mockridge was once one of the faces of Sat.1. In August 2021, he announced a break and has hardly appeared on television since then. From mid-September, Mockridge will host the Sat.1 show "What's in the Box? The Comedy Quiz".