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Oliver Kalkofe: German Humor Is More Sensitive Today, Not More Censored

He contends earlier constraints came from official pressure rather than from today's audience criticism.

Overview

  • In a new Stern interview, the satirist rejects the claim that jokes are no longer allowed and calls such complaints nonsense.
  • He says past decades were stricter because church and political actors exerted official pressure on media outlets.
  • Kalkofe criticizes people who use racist slurs under an anti‑woke banner, stressing that public speech invites public responses.
  • Reviewing his own career, he says most of his material has aged well but some belongs to another era, citing early 1990s Frühstyxradio and his irreverent TV show Kalkofes Mattscheibe.
  • Ahead of his 60th birthday on Friday, he urges a calmer, more considerate public tone and reminds audiences that thinking does not hurt.