Thomas Gottschalk offends with statements: “Women touched on business”

Thomas Gottschalk has teased us with a new interview. Once again, one would have to say, because for several years the presenter has known how to polarize in order to get attention. The 74-year-old gave a big interview to “Spiegel”. “He expresses himself from egocentric to narcissistic, racist, sexist,” criticizes a reader on X, formerly Twitter. She has never read such a “bitter” interview. This is by no means the only reaction in this direction. But what did Gottschalk actually say?

Thomas Gottschalk polarizes

The conversation with the magazine begins directly confrontational. The first question was whether there was agreement that Gottschalk was not a “cool old man”. “No, we’re not. What’s cool, definitely not you,” replies Gottschalk. But he always has problems with young people, according to “Spiegel”. Gottschalk then explains that he simply does not understand the zeitgeist. Then – how could it be otherwise – he also talks about gender. For example, “spectators” instead of “spectators,” why should he say that, he asks himself. But Gottschalk also admits that he is unsettled. “I used to be sure-footed, but now I’m not always sure-footed,” he says.

When asked about clips that show him grabbing the knee of female guests (Steffi Graf and the Spice Girls) on the “Wetten,dass..?” shows, Gottschalk gets bitchy. “I had no sexual interest in the Spice Girls. They were my guests in the 1990s and also tugged on me. Besides, they sang: ‘If You Wanna Be My Lover’,” he justifies himself. And continues: “I touched women on TV purely for business purposes. Like an actor who kisses in a film because it’s in the script.” At this point he leaves it open which “Wetten, dass…?” script said he had to touch the guests.

Racist statements

He wouldn’t do that today. Just as he wouldn’t enter an elevator if there was a woman in it. “What do I do if she runs out on the second floor and shouts ‘#MeToo, he touched me’?” he says. Gottschalk obviously does not understand that with this statement he is downplaying attacks against women. He only speaks for himself, not for other men, he says.

Then Gottschalk talks about women who do their lips and says they only do it for “their guy.” Later in the interview, Gottschalk reproduces terms that are considered racist and talks about his own loss of meaning. “It doesn’t sadden me if I have fewer followers than Karl Lagerfeld’s cat, that’s the way things go,” says Gottschalk.

Gottschalk’s statements are causing mixed reactions online. “Is it just me who finds this extremely worrying? What’s the point of such a statement? Sexual violence against women as a joke to draw attention to supposed oversensitivity?” complains one user on X. “Annoying, embarrassing, unworthy,” was the clear verdict of another .

Media journalist Stefan Niggemeier meanwhile sees problems on both sides. “I find the Gottschalk interview sad. It’s not a lively exchange of blows, but seems bitter from both sides. The interviewers are usually right, but why should we keep blaming him? He’s just a former TV star,” he also writes at X.

Sources:/X

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