Mario Barth jested about individuals with disabilities.
The buzz surrounds comedian Luke Mockridge, whose humorous jabs at the Paralympic Games and its athletes in a podcast have caused an uproar. Consequently, additional episodes of the podcast, including one featuring Mario Barth, who also poked fun at a disabled individual, are now under scrutiny.
Mockridge's controversial performance on the show "Die Deutschen" by Nizar & Shayan has recently garnered widespread attention. Following his controversial comments, Mockridge is facing a barrage of criticism. Many event organizers, former collaborators, and even the hosts of the podcast, Nizar Akremi and Shayan Garcia, have disassociated themselves from him. Several of Mockridge's performances have been canceled, including one at the "Haus der Springmaus" in Bonn, his father's foundation. Sat.1 has also chosen not to air the show "Was ist in der Box?" with Mockridge as the host, which was set to air this week. Additionally, the language learning app Babbel has withdrawn its sponsorship of "Die Deutschen".
Due to an investigation into Mockridge's comments, earlier episodes of Nizar & Shayan's podcast are also being examined, including episodes with popular guests like Bushido and Sido. Mario Barth is one of the guests who has come under scrutiny. He featured in episode 419 of their show in May.
"I find that antisocial"
A video from "Die Deutschen" Instagram page shows Barth mocking a disabled person during his appearance. Surrounded by laughing hosts, Barth described a scenario from a show's end: "I did an encore. Then I said: 'Everyone stand up, you just stay sitting there. I find that antisocial.' I said: 'It's time to stop, you've been fooling people for years.' I said: 'You don't make fun of someone with a disability.' And he was sitting in a wheelchair laughing his head off." Barth further demonstrated the man's laughter, implying that he had an intellectual disability. The laughter from Barth and his hosts echoed the alleged laughter from the audience member.
Barth continued: "I said: 'If you're going to laugh, laugh properly, or you're out of here.'" He mimicked the laughter again, insinuating that the man had put his hand on his crotch. Barth then boasted that he had told numerous jokes about disabilities, admitting that the audience was initially taken aback but then continued to laugh. The person in question continued to laugh – "because he knew: 'This encore is just for me." Barth concluded that no one else would understand this, implying that his actions and comments were acceptable. And he might be correct.
After the controversy surrounding Luke Mockridge's podcast episodes, the comedy routine of Mario Barth, another guest, is now under examination. In a segment of Nizar & Shayan's podcast, Barth mimicked and mocked a disabled person, sparking backlash for his insensitive jokes.
