According to his derogatory statements 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 by NovemberAccording 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 performance each in Siegen and Mainz were canceled. cancelled by local organizersIn Rheine in Münsterland, advance ticket sales have been stopped, as a spokesman for the town hall confirmed.
Sharp criticism from the entertainment industry
“Luke Mockridge clearly lacks any humility towards the achievements of Paralympians and any respect towards people with disabilities of any kind. We find his statements inhumane and shameful“, wrote the Gelsenkirchen show organizer Emschertainment to justify the decision.
The television 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 do not correspond to the station’s valuessaid a spokesman.
The mocking sentences come from the podcast “Die Deutschen”which had already been 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 had said, among other things.
Mockridge backtracks
After receiving widespread criticism of 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. (dpa)
