Last but not least: Dieter Bohlen's miraculous rise as an artist
So now it’s official: Dieter Bohlen is an artist. Too bad for RTL. Because this means that the TV network, as the employer of Bohlen and three other judges on «Deutschland sucht den Superstar,» has to pay back taxes totaling a good 173,000 euros for the first two seasons alone.
The German Federal Social Court ruled that the judges' contribution was a crucial part of the show's concept. It is an entertainment show, and the jurors contribute to this entertainment to no small extent with their more or less witty comments. It was not about the quality of the comments - this was not relevant for the legal assessment of whether it was art; the jurors were clearly to be classified as artists. And artists have to pay contributions to the artists' social security fund. It remains to be seen whether Dieter Bohlen is happy about his surprising rise to artist status. Whether he really deserves the title also remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: RTL could have continued to live with the anti-artist Bohlen.
