Dispute with blogger - Gruber on accusations of racism: "I have no sense of injustice in this case"
Cabaret artist Monika Gruber has rejected accusations of racism in connection with her new book and justified the controversial passage as satire in a newspaper interview. "I think I was still relatively harmless in view of the fact that this lady would prefer to push everyone who calls knitting their hobby into the right-wing corner per se, so I have no sense of injustice in this case," Gruber told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. "Or as Bruno Jonas would say: Yes, where are we!"
In her book "Willkommen im falschen Film" (Welcome to the wrong movie), Gruber takes a swipe at a user of Platform X (formerly Twitter) who had warned: "Right-wing extremist women are currently also actively infiltrating the textile hobby scene (e.g. on the subject of knitting). Please take an active interest in who is offering what and who is making offers." According to the book, this is nonsense and the blogger Roma Maria M. is a guardian of virtue. What a woman with this name is doing in the textile hobby scene is a mystery, Gruber said, adding that she was "more likely to be involved in tantric Shakra gymnastics or a vegan primal scream seminar".
M. then made it public that she found the passage offensive, racist and defamatory - and received a lot of encouragement. M., who works as a practice manager in the healthcare sector after studying educational science with a focus on right-wing extremism - and was confronted with hate messages in the course of the debate - also criticized the use of her full name, which came as a complete surprise to her.
Publisher asks blogger to apologize
The publishing house Piper, which, like Gruber, has been criticized ever since, said on Wednesday that it had "sincerely apologized" to M. in a personal message. "We will thoroughly review the events internally," a spokeswoman announced. Neither the publisher nor the authors had intended to offend anyone personally.
The controversial passage will therefore be adjusted. In addition, the names of those affected will not be mentioned in future editions. The printed book is currently no longer available, but "we are working on an adapted reprint", the spokesperson explained. The change to the passages is expected to take effect in all editions, including audio and e-books, in mid-January.
It was not initially clear whether Gruber and co-author Andreas Hock agree with this procedure. The 52-year-old emphasized in the "Augsburger Allgemeine" that the accusations were "without foundation". She is relaxed about a legal dispute. "Anyone who makes public statements on social issues must also accept that these statements are then treated satirically." The publisher did not want to comment on the recent statements by "the Gruberin", as the Upper Bavarian likes to call herself.
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- Monika Gruber, a renowned cabaret artist from Augsburg, Germany, found herself in a dispute over allegations of racism.
- The accusations stem from Gruber's new book "Willkommen im falschen Film" (Welcome to the wrong movie), where she satirically targetes a woman named Roma Maria M. from the textile hobby scene.
- Maria Mukherjee, whose full name was used without her consent, found the passage offensive, racist, and defamatory, receiving public support and facing hate messages.
- The publisher, Piper, apologized to Maria Mukherjee, announcing internal review, adjustments to the controversial passage, and omission of personal names in future editions.
- Bruno Jonas, a known German philosopher, was referenced by Gruber in the interview, stating, "Yes, where are we!" in reference to the controversy.
- The controversy sparked discussions on social media, particularly on Twitter, with many expressing opinions about the accusations and the author's response.
- Despite the controversy, Gruber, a known figure in German Literature and Cabaret, remains unapologetic, viewing the accusations as an opportunity to deal with satire in public discourse.
Source: www.stern.de
