After the heavy criticism of his statements about disabled sports, comedian Luke Mockridge plans to start his “Funny Times” tour next week, albeit with a delay. The tour kicks off on Wednesday in Vienna, tour organizer MTS live said in response to a request. The remaining dates of the tour that have not been canceled in the past few days are also scheduled to take place.
In response to criticism of his comments in a podcast, Mockridge had cancelled the first two stops on the tour in Bünde in East Westphalia and Paderborn. Seven other appearances in Gelsenkirchen, Bonn, Siegen, Mainz and Erfurt were cancelled by the local organisers – coupled with some clear criticism of Mockridge’s statements about parasports. Originally, a good 30 appearances in Germany and Austria were planned as part of the “Funny Times” tour.
The agency Hoanzl, which is responsible for the performance in Vienna, confirmed that the event will take place on Wednesday. Mockridge’s tour plan then includes stops in Leonding and Salzburg in Austria. According to the tour organizer, the first performance in Germany will be on September 25 at the Technikum in Munich. The local organizer PGM Promoters Group Munich did not initially comment when asked.
The comedian had made derogatory comments about disabled sports in a podcast. “There are people without legs and arms who are thrown into a pool – and whoever is the last to drown wins,” Mockridge said in the podcast “Die Deutschen”. The episode was published in August, but only received greater attention shortly before the closing ceremony of the Paralympics.
Backtracking on Instagram
After massive public criticism of his statements, Mockridge backtracked and apologized to the athletes. “Of course, it was never my intention to ridicule people with disabilities – especially during these great Paralympic Games,” the 35-year-old wrote on Instagram last weekend.
The statements also had consequences for the comedian beyond his tour. The television station Sat.1 took the planned new TV quiz “What’s in the Box?” with the 35-year-old off the program. The comedian also lost his management.
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