4,400 athletes are currently competing in the Paralympics in Paris, showing top performances and breaking records. One person who finds this funny to watch is Luke Mockridge. To the horror of many people, the comedian, together with hosts Shayan Garcia and Nizar Akremi, makes fun of disabled people and disabled athletes in a tasteless manner in the podcast “Die Deutschen”.
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“The first person to have the idea, that’s pretty crazy, isn’t it?” Mockridge begins. “The first person to call another country: ‘Hey, you know the Olympic Games, I have a similar idea. You also have disabled people in your country, shall we see who is faster?'”
Luke Mockridge on Paralympic swimmers: “… and the last one to drown wins.”
Table of Contents
- 1 Luke Mockridge on Paralympic swimmers: “… and the last one to drown wins.”
- 2 Ableist podcast has been online for three weeks
- 3 Luke Mockridge “celebrates” black humor from disabled people
- 4 From “disgusting” to “a disgrace”: devastating comments on Mockridge’s statements
- 5 Disabled Sports Association invites Mockridge to learn
- 6 Luke Mockridge is about to make his TV comeback
- 7 What were the specific comments made by Luke Mockridge that sparked outrage regarding the Paralympics?
Nizar, also a comedian, gets into it in particular, imitating people with disabilities by the arms. “Like a T-Rex,” laughs Shayan Garcia. Nizar asks what people without arms and legs can do. “They can swim. There are people without arms and legs who are thrown into the pool…”, begins Mockridge. “They drown,” replies Nizar. When Mockridge says: “… and the last one to drown wins,” the three men laugh their heads off.
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In other sequences, “disabled” is used as a swear word, there is talk about quality classes for disabled people and laughter about creating GIFs. In the podcast, Mockridge defends himself against critics in advance. His friend Mathias Mester, a small athlete, gave his approval. “He says pity is the worst. You know yourself that it looks funny. There is no need for someone to have a guilty conscience,” explains the 35-year-old, who already made jokes about physically and mentally disabled people and the Paralympics in his stage program a year ago. There has been no response from Mockridge to a request from the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) on Saturday.
Ableist podcast has been online for three weeks
Shayan Garcia and Nizar Akremi uploaded the podcast episode three weeks ago, and there are only a few critical voices in the older comments. The video only received a lot of attention when the first Instagram accounts with a wide reach noticed it.
Two-time Olympic champion Kristina Vogel is appalled by Mockridge’s statements.
Source: Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
The podcast has been talked about ever since two-time Olympic champion Kristina Vogel, who has been paralyzed since a serious training accident in 2018, shared a sequence on Instagram. “Warning and advance warning,” she wrote in the clip. “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’s just one example, it’s unbelievable!!”
Luke Mockridge “celebrates” black humor from disabled people
The criticism has now reached the comedian himself. On Instagram, he posted a video of his last tour in which he also made jokes about disabled people. “Of course, it was never my intention to ridicule people with disabilities – especially during these great Paralympic Games,” he wrote, referring again to his collaboration with Mathias Mester. He told him that “pity is often the worst form of exclusion.” Mockridge seems to ignore the fact that there are many shades of grey between pity and ridicule. Paralympic athlete Mester has not yet responded to a request from the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND).
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According to Mockridge, the response from people with disabilities has been consistently positive. So far. In the comments on the podcast clip, there is harsh criticism from numerous people affected, including Vogel. Shot put world champion and Paris silver medalist Niko Kappel told the German Press Agency (dpa): “Luke Mockridge and his two fellow competitors are unlucky that contempt for humanity, ignorance and bad taste are not Paralympic. Otherwise they would have been able to experience these great games as athletes and would have been hot candidates for gold.”
Mockridge, on the other hand, justifies himself: “From my own experience of working with disabled people, I have always experienced a sharp, black sense of humor that I have celebrated. I am really sorry that I failed to convey that properly and that I have hurt people.” He continues: “It also pisses me off that at the end of the Paralympics, the media are talking more about me and not about the tournament.”
From “disgusting” to “a disgrace”: devastating comments on Mockridge’s statements
After hundreds of comments full of criticism and accusations of ableism, the excerpt from the podcast has now been deleted from the profile of “Die Deutschen”, but it is still visible thanks to numerous shares. The entire episode is also still available on YouTube. In addition to Kristina Vogel, ZDF reporter Michael Krämer also spoke out and described the video as “a disgrace”.
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Influencer Diana zur Löwen finds it “disgusting”, influencer Vitor Gatinho speaks of one of the “abysses of the internet”. The activist and disabled person Raul Krauthausen did not comment directly, but shared numerous critical comments on the subject in his Instagram stories. Among other things, he repeatedly referred to a quote that he said in connection with videos on the official Paralympics TikTok channel in which athletes’ mishaps are shown: “If everyone is supposed to learn that you can laugh about disability, that is questionable attention.”
Disabled Sports Association invites Mockridge to learn
Several commentators point out that comedian Felix Lobrecht was also recently criticized for ableism. In a show available on Netflix, he complained about disabled parking spaces, saying things like “These damn disabled people everywhere” or “Then don’t drive a car, you cripple, I want to park. There are still people who have to walk the distance from their car to their home. No Rollo Automatico here.” While the statements were hotly debated on social media, nothing was reported about them in many media outlets.
Özcan Mutlu, president of the Berlin Disabled and Rehabilitation Sports Association, demanded an apology from Mockridge on Saturday morning. “This cannot be dismissed as comedy or mere stupidity,” he told the dpa, “such derogatory statements are absolutely unacceptable and deserve strong condemnation. Mockridge should be deeply ashamed and apologize immediately.” Swimming, which the three men particularly made fun of, is one of Germany’s flagship disciplines at this year’s Paralympics. Taliso Engel and Elena Semechin set world records for Germany and won gold.
Luke Mockridge is about to make his TV comeback
The German Disabled Sports Association also invited Mockridge to a Paralympic competition. This would enable Mockridge to experience for himself “the impressive achievements that people with disabilities are capable of – and to understand what an enrichment they are for our society,” the association told dpa. Mockridge announced on Instagram that he wanted to accept the invitation. He wrote that he was looking forward to the change of perspective and to actively learning.
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Mockridge, whose words spread quickly on Saturday, was once a figurehead of Sat.1, but after allegations from his former partner, who accused him of sexual violence, he took a break. The proceedings against him were dropped, Mockridge denied the allegations. He was actually supposed to return to the screen next Thursday with a new Sat.1 show, but Sat.1 is now also taking action. The new show “What’s in the Box?” will not start as planned, said Sat.1 spokesman Christoph Körfer of the “South German NewspaperMockridge’s apology was acknowledged, but the controversial jokes did not fit with the station’s values. Mockridge should now find a way to “follow his apology with actions and continue to work on the issue in the interests of all people with disabilities and in the interests of all para-athletes who impressed and enchanted us with their achievements in Paris.”
What were the specific comments made by Luke Mockridge that sparked outrage regarding the Paralympics?
Luke Mockridge’s Controversial Paralympics Jokes Spark Outrage
The 2024 Paralympics in Paris are showcasing the incredible talents of 4,400 athletes, breaking records and pushing boundaries. However, German comedian Luke Mockridge has sparked outrage with his tasteless jokes about disabled people and Paralympic athletes.
In a podcast episode of “Die Deutschen,” Mockridge, along with hosts Shayan Garcia and Nizar Akremi, made fun of people with disabilities in a disturbing manner. The comedian’s jokes included a scenario where Paralympic swimmers were ridiculed, with Mockridge saying, ”The first person to have the idea, that’s pretty crazy, isn’t it?” and later, “… and the last one to drown wins” [[3]]. Nizar Akremi imitated people with disabilities by the arms, with Shayan Garcia laughing and comparing it to a T-Rex.
The podcast episode, which was uploaded three weeks ago, initially received little backlash. However, when two-time Olympic champion Kristina Vogel, who has been paralyzed since a serious training accident in 2018, shared a sequence on Instagram, the podcast went viral. Vogel was appalled by Mockridge’s statements and called them “inhumane” [[2]].
Mockridge later apologized on Instagram, claiming that it was never his intention to ridicule people with disabilities, especially during the Paralympic Games [[2]]. He defended his actions, citing his collaboration with Mathias Mester, a small athlete who gave his approval. However, many have criticized Mockridge for ignoring the fact that there are many shades of grey between pity and ridicule.
The backlash has led to Sat.1 channel showing Mockridge the red card, with the channel announcing that they will no longer broadcast his content [[1]]. The controversy highlights the need for greater sensitivity and respect towards people with disabilities, especially in the entertainment industry.
The incident has sparked a wider conversation about ableism and the importance of promoting inclusivity and respect for all individuals, regardless of their abilities. As we celebrate the achievements of Paralympic athletes, it’s crucial that we address the harmful attitudes and behaviors that perpetuate discrimination and marginalization.
References:
[[1]]https://www.krone.at/3519010
[[2]]https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/german-comedian-apologizes-outrage-remark-191621005.html
[[3]]https://soundcloud.com/shik-shok-754808799/full-luke-mockridge-paralympics-video-original
