After his derogatory comments about disabled sports, other organizers are distancing themselves from comedian Luke Mockridge. As of Tuesday, six performances as part of his planned “Funny Times” tour had been canceled. Other organizers confirmed on request that they were in talks about whether the 35-year-old’s planned performances should take place. The comedian’s management did not initially comment on request.
Mockridge wants to start his tour on Thursday in Bünde, East Westphalia. More than 30 performances in Germany and Austria were originally planned until November, and according to the organizers, many shows are already sold out.
Recently, however, some organizers had drawn consequences from Mockridge’s heavily criticized comments about disabled athletes. Two shows each in Gelsenkirchen and Bonn and one appearance each in Siegen and Mainz were canceled by the local organizers. In Rheine in Münsterland, advance ticket sales were stopped, as a spokesman for the town hall confirmed.
Sharp criticism from the entertainment industry
“Luke Mockridge obviously lacks any humility towards the achievements of the Paralympians and respect towards people with disabilities of any kind. We find his comments to be inhumane and shameful,” wrote the Gelsenkirchen-based show organizer Emschertainment in justifying the decision.
The TV station Sat.1 had previously taken the planned new TV quiz “What’s in the Box?” with the 35-year-old out of the program. Mockridge’s statements did not correspond to the station’s values, said a spokesman.
The mocking sentences come from the podcast “Die Deutschen”, which was published in August but only received greater attention shortly before the closing ceremony of the Paralympics. “There are people without legs and arms who are thrown into a pool – and whoever drowns last wins,” Mockridge said, among other things.
Mockridge backtracks
After receiving a lot of criticism for his statements, he backtracked and apologized to the athletes. “Of course, it was never my intention to ridicule people with disabilities – especially during these great Paralympic Games,” Mockridge wrote on Instagram. However, many users commented critically on the apology and did not believe the comedian’s remorse.
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