Ableist jokes from comedian: No show for Luke Mockridge

Luke Mockridge made ableist jokes in a podcast. The comedian apologized, but Sat.1 is still taking his show off the schedule.

Luke Mockridge at the BonnLive Open Air on the Telekom Campus in Bonn Beuel, May 29, 2024 Photo: Marc John/imago

The broadcaster Sat.1 has announced that it will be removing the planned show “What's in the Box?” with Luke Mockridge from its schedule. The comedy quiz show was supposed to be broadcast from September 12th. The reason for the cancellation is Mockridge's ableist comments in a podcast. Broadcaster Christoph Körfer explained the cancellation as follows: “The statements about disabled people and para-athletes, which many people are rightly outraged about, do not fit with our values.”

In the podcast “Die Deutschen”, Mockridge, together with hosts Nizar Akremi and Shayan Garcia, made fun of the athletes at the Paralympic Games in Paris and ridiculed the idea of ​​the games. He said: “There are people without legs and without arms who are thrown into the pool – and whoever drowns last wins.” Sat.1 spokesman Körfer said: “We hope that Luke Mockridge finds a way to follow up his apology with actions and to 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 in Paris with their achievements.” When asked by taz what actions Mockridge had followed up his words, the sender did not answer. Nor did he ask whether further collaboration with the comedian is planned.

The episode was released in early August, but it was only last week that Mockridge's ableist statements became known after disability rights activists and athletes in particular shared and criticized excerpts from the podcast on Instagram.

Mockridge has now publicly apologized for his statements on Instagram. This is not the first time the comedian has had to apologize for his behavior. But he still has to face the consequences.

Not only the Sat.1 show, but also his appearance at the live show “Nightwish” was cancelled by the organizer, according to reports by Westphalia-Blatt. And the language learning app Babbel withdrew its funding for the podcast “Die Deutschen”, reports the Mirror. Luke Mockridge and his comedy may soon get a big stage. His “Funny Times” tour through 29 German and Austrian cities started on Thursday. But some venues are reportedly trying to terminate their contracts.