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Comedian Kawusi (in November 2020): RTL keeps its distance
Photo: Joshua Sammer/Getty Images
At least the odds were right.
On Tuesday morning, RTL sent the news that the new show format “Viva la Diva – Who is the Queen?” had beaten the competition with a market share of twelve percent among 14 to 49 year olds and was pleased with the “successful start” for the »Week of Diversity«, which is currently running on the private broadcaster.
During the night, however, RTL was temporarily contrite.
Comedian Faisal Kawusi also competed in the pre-produced show, in which seven male celebrities competed against each other in drag outfits.
Kawusi was criticized when he made a joke about knockout drops in a comment on an Instagram entry by comedian Joyce Ilg and later defended it again on his own Instagram account.
RTL then tweeted the following statement after Monday's broadcast: "We distance ourselves from the statements made by Faisal Kawusi on social media in April.
›Viva La Diva‹ was already recorded in March 2022.
RTL stands for diversity and tolerance.« Together with everyone involved, this message is transported and celebrated as part of the show, the broadcaster continues.
»There is no room here for discrimination and disrespect, everyone involved agrees.«
Immediately after Kawusi's Instagram failure in April, his former home broadcaster Sat.1 had already distanced himself from him.
At the time, the broadcaster emphasized that the cooperation had ended two years ago, but did not want to comment on specific reasons.
In "Viva la Diva - Who is the Queen?" Kawusi appeared under the drag name "Madame LeStrange" - and won the contest.
Comedian Mario Barth presented him with the winner's trophy at the end.
It is a particularly unfavorable development for RTL that someone, of all people, wins the most prominent program of a theme week under the motto "Diversity connects", who attracted attention with his sexist behavior.
Germany's largest private broadcaster is currently looking for a new profile.
The RTL managers are trying to reconcile light entertainment and social demands.
In the last few months, however, those responsible have only pulled one old show idea after the other out of the basement.
The Kawusi scandal must be seen as a further step backwards in the Cologne media company's large-scale modernization campaign.
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