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Hape Kerkeling Warns of Rising Online Hate in Germany as Humor Falls Short

He frames his January film Extrawurst as a political contribution against racist resentments.

Overview

  • In a new Spiegel interview, the entertainer says anger and hate on the internet have reached alarming levels that satire cannot defuse.
  • He voices concern about a drift toward authoritarianism and describes a broad intellectual fatigue in Germany.
  • Kerkeling rejects claims that he is paid to oppose the AfD, saying neither Olaf Scholz nor Friedrich Merz has given him money.
  • He promotes Extrawurst, set to open in German cinemas on January 15, and confirms a March return of his Horst Schlämmer character.
  • He defends Thomas Gottschalk against what he calls overblown outrage and says he will not parody Donald Trump because he finds no lovability in the figure.