"Borderline"
SRG Ombudsman Roger Blum considers Röbi Koller’s «skit» featuring an actor with his face painted black to be legally permissible. However, when it comes to good taste and human decency, he is highly critical.
Blum sees no violation of the ban on racism and discrimination in radio and television in the "Blackfacing" joke in Röbi Koller's program "Happy Day" on 15 October. From a legal point of view, the joke for the program "Verstehen Sie Spass?" is not objectionable. The alleged black South African had not been degraded in his dignity. The sketch was clearly identified as such and was directed solely against presenter Koller.
On a psychological level, however, things look different according to Blum. His generation was socialized with the decolonization of Africa in such a way that race and ethnicity were no longer an issue.
"Clumsy and infantile"
In this context, a white actor with black make-up is "a huge step backwards", especially "when it is done in such a crude and infantile way" as in this specific case. The actor spoke like an Indian, was a carnival character and the humor interlude was racist in that the character was misused as a disruptive factor in the show.
Both the German presenter and humorist Guido Cantz and Röbi Koller had underestimated the effect of the scene on people of color and on people sensitive to racism in subsequent statements. In short, the performance was ill-considered and clumsy. Many people rightly perceived it as discriminatory, Blum concludes.
However, he did not reprimand presenter Röbi Koller. He had put a good face on the bad game. Blum, on the other hand, sees Cantz and his team from "Verstehen Sie Spass?" as responsible for the decision to "blackface". Their superiors at the German broadcaster SWR are partly responsible for the broadcast.
The editors of "Happy Day" are also partly responsible, as they made common cause with Cantz's team, did not reveal anything and raised no objections to the "blackfacing".
Thirdly and finally, the management of SRF is responsible because it broadcast "Happy Day" and accepted the scene.
30 Complaints
Schweizer Fernsehen SRF admitted that it would no longer do the scene in the same way from today's perspective. However, the sketch had been agreed as part of the co-production of "Verstehen Sie Spass?" with SWR. Thirty complaints were received about the joke, 14 from Switzerland and 16 from Germany. After the live broadcast on Swiss television, it was shown on SWR's "Verstehen Sie Spass". An appeal against the ombudsman's decision can be lodged with the Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television (UBI). (SDA)
