Sat.1 cancels new Mockridge show before it even starts

Sat.1 will not be launching the new show “What’s in the Box?” with Luke Mockridge next Thursday as planned, the broadcaster has now confirmed to DWDL.de. The reason for this is the comedian’s comments about disabled people, for which he has already received a lot of criticism in recent days.

In mid-August, Mockridge spoke to presenters Nizar Akremi and Shayan Garcia on the podcast “Die Deutschen” about the athletes at the Paralympics. “There are people without legs and without arms who are thrown into the pool – and whoever drowns last wins,” said Mockridge. The comedian and the two presenters also mimicked the movements of physically impaired athletes.

The statements only became known to a large audience a few days ago, after former track cyclist Kristina Vogel, among others, published an excerpt from the podcast in her Instagram story. Criticism rained down from all sides, both from Mockridge’s community and from the president of the Berlin Disabled and Rehabilitation Sports Association, who spoke of an “unprecedented derailment”.

Now Sat.1 is pulling the plug on the new Mockridge show, which was produced by Constantin Entertainment and was due to start next Thursday after “99 – Who beats them all?” “The statements about disabled people and para-athletes, which many people are rightly outraged about, do not fit with our values. Luke Mockridge quickly realised what he had done wrong with these statements. He therefore publicly apologised for his inappropriate words – and accepted the invitation from the German Disabled Sports Association,” explains Sat.1 spokesman Christoph Körfer to DWDL.de. Nevertheless, the decision was made not to start the show “What’s in the Box?” on September 12th.

In fact, Mockridge apologized for his statements on Saturday. “It was never his intention to ridicule people with disabilities,” the comedian wrote on Instagram. “I developed the jokes together with a Paralympic athlete and comedian to draw attention to the fact that pity is often the worst form of exclusion. The response – especially from people with disabilities – was enormous and consistently positive.” Mockridge nevertheless admits: “Gags that have to be explained are not technically good.”

The comedian continued that he was sorry that he had hurt people. “I am also disgusted that the media is talking more about me at the end of these Paralympic Games and not about the tournament. I am very happy to accept the invitation from the German Disabled Sports Association and am looking forward to the change of perspective and to actively learning. Comedy and sport should be fun – always! Today it didn’t work out and that’s on me!” The German Disabled Sports Association had called on people to watch para-sports live in order to experience “the impressive achievements that people with disabilities are capable of – and to understand what areas they represent for our society”.

Sat.1 will now be watching to see how Mockridge deals with the matter. “We hope that Luke Mockridge will find a way to follow up his apology with actions and to continue to deal with the issue in the interests of all people with disabilities and in the interests of all para-athletes who impressed and enchanted us with their achievements in Paris,” says broadcaster Körfer.