What this means for Sat.1

Luke Mockridge is making fun of disabled people, forcing his broadcaster Sat.1 to provide an explanation. The consequences are likely to go beyond a show being cancelled.

It was supposed to be his comeback. For three years, Luke Mockridge had largely withdrawn from the television business. The fuss surrounding the abuse allegations against him had led to the TV star wanting to work on himself and going into therapy. “I need time, peace and distance to understand, learn and heal,” he said at the time.

In February 2021, it became known that his ex-girlfriend Ines Anioli had accused him of assault. Later, in a “Spiegel” investigation, other women made accusations that Mockridge had behaved inappropriately. The comedian denied the allegations and went into seclusion. Sat.1 shows such as “All Together Now”, “Catch” and “Greatnightshow” were canceled. The time out began – it was supposed to last until September of this year.

The Sat.1 show “What's in the Box? – The Comedy Quiz” was planned as his comeback format. But that's not going to happen now. Luke Mockridge maneuvered himself into the sidelines with derogatory comments about disabled people during a podcast. He made fun of the Paralympics, saying things like: “There are people without arms and legs, you throw them into a pool – and whoever is the last one to drown wins.”

His broadcaster then pulled the plug and had the comeback scheduled for September 12th.

This is a bitter setback for Sat.1. Eight shows with Mockridge as host of his new show were planned – and already produced. A total of 14 comedians were part of the guest cast. Among them were stars such as Simon Gosejohann, Wigald Boning, Janine Kunze, Eko Fresh and Guido Cantz. A probably expensive affair, each lasting an hour, which will now go into the Sat.1 gift cabinet.

The sender does not want to comment on the exact costs and the presumed loss calculation. Station spokesman Christoph Körfer leaves several questions from t-online unanswered.

The past few days have shown how difficult it is for Sat.1 to find a replacement for the Mockridge show. The scandal surrounding the comedian's comments gained momentum on Friday and built up into a considerable wave of outrage over the weekend. But it was not until well into Monday afternoon that Sat.1 announced its program change. A program change for the coming Thursday. Three days of crisis meetings to find a show replacement in three days.

There must have been a lot of tension behind the scenes. Sat.1 had hoped that Luke Mockridge's return to the TV stage would bring increased attention. That's true – but it's now proving to be a boomerang. Because with a lot of attention but no suitable program, little is gained. Suddenly, advertising partners, invited comedians, station managers, all the proven people in the production are literally left in the dark and are served repeats.

This shows how fragile the TV business with controversial personalities is. RTLzwei had to experience something similar in March of last year. First, the broadcaster announced that it wanted to show a reality documentary about Michael Wendler's family life – only to give in to public pressure a day later and bury the plans again.

Luke Mockridge may not have attracted attention with conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic statements like Wendler. But he is also known as a notorious border crosser who plays with provocation. At the beginning of his career in 2013, he attracted attention on the YouTube channel “Ponk” with misogynistic insults, talked about rapes under the influence of knockout drops and how he wanted to go to “hooker parties” with his godchild. Six years later, he incurred the displeasure of Andrea Kiewel because he imitated monkey noises on the “ZDF Fernsehgarten” and talked on the phone with a banana.