display
After much criticism, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) defended a satirical contribution with a fictional black-made-up candidate for Chancellor.
In the program “SchleichFernsehen” on Thursday evening, cabaret artist Helmut Schleich slipped into the role of a son of the former Bavarian Prime Minister Franz Josef Strauss, who lived in Africa - and used the means of “blackfacing”.
With his face painted black, Schleich joked about current Bavarian politics.
On the Internet, commentators described the post as racist on Friday.
Blackfacing is when white people put on make-up to portray black people stereotypically.
A spokeswoman for the BR announced that the editors were aware of the discussions on blackfacing and the associated problems and that they had been discussed intensively with Helmut Schleich in the run-up to the broadcast.
“In a satirical format, however, the artist must also be given a certain amount of freedom for satirical exaggerations.
Artistic freedom is a great asset, but sometimes it also explores limits. "
display
The BR also announced: The fictional character Maxwell Strauss was expressly a caricature by Franz Josef Strauss and as such should not be judged separately from the text: The content of the contribution was the authoritarian understanding of power of the fictional character Maxwell Strauss.
On its homepage, the BR writes about the program that Schleich “does not shy away from even the most ludicrous costumes”.
According to BR, Schleich said of the post that as a cabaret artist, it was his job to exaggerate things.
"It is precisely through an invented son Maxwell Strauss that I am showing the import of neo-colonial structures from the global north to Africa."