Thomas Gottschalk said a sentence on the BAMBI stage as a congratulations to Cher which caused a lot of excitement. We should not see this moment as a scandal, but as an opportunity to question ourselves.
Another wave of anger. Thomas Gottschalk again. But: Wait a minute: I was born in 1972. A classic example of the Golf generation. We are television kids, not feed. For us, the program doesn’t come from an algorithm, but from a device that gets hot when you turn it on.
“Yeah, something like that” was one of the cultural pillars of my early youth. At that time, my father called Thomas Gottschalk a “long-haired bomber” – half annoyed, half fascinated. And that’s the magic: a host who stretches the rules to create entertainment. It’s not the artist who sells content, but the entertainer who creates the atmosphere.
For many of us, Gottschalk is as much a part of life as the smell of VHS tapes
Then he took over “Wetten, dass..?” by Frank Elstner, he elevates the show to a level that can only be found today in nostalgic soft-focus reminiscences. These moments create a sense of togetherness that is almost non-existent today. That’s why I can say personally: For many of us, Thomas Gottschalk is as much a part of life as the smell of a VHS box or the sound of a dial-up modem. That’s why I forgave him everything.
Now my mailbox is full because people are writing: “Say something about it.” It’s a good idea to pay close attention to Gottschalk’s appearance in BAMBI.
A sentence that causes murmurs
The trigger is known: Gottschalk announced Cher with the words: “This is her, the only woman I take seriously in my life.”
A sentence is like a stumbling block – rhetorically complicated, improvised, and very easily misunderstood. Meant as a compliment, it is understood as a devaluation of other women. The audience responded with some boos. The hall, designed for glamour, suddenly becomes communicatively engaging.
Gottschalk corrected himself, without making any excuses
That night, Gottschalk appeared agitated, confused, on the verge of losing consciousness. Something next to you. He also spoke openly about it afterwards. No teleprompter, lots of improvisation, little preparation. Usually that has always been his strength. Not this time. He then corrected himself, apologizing clearly and without excuse – behavior seen now less frequently than a fax machine in the wild.
But that’s where the real show begins: outrage upon outrage. Several media outlets described Gottschalk as “confused,” “overwhelmed” and “embarrassed.” Social networks fuel this dynamic: edited quotes, lots of memes, snap judgments, always there: lots of hate.
Right now, anger is the currency that provides the most immediate returns
And as often happens when an icon is weakened, the digital public showed extraordinary zeal to not only criticize people, but also erase them completely from their previous biographies.
Germany actually loves its heroes. But the Germans liked it better when these heroes stumbled. Because it feels morally good? Maybe because it increases your own importance. Maybe because anger is the currency that provides the fastest profits at the moment.
Gottschalk’s sentence opens up space for misunderstanding
A compliment is dramaturgically clear: the stage is clear for the person being rewarded. But Gottschalk shifted the focus to himself with his sentence.
This confusion of roles opens up space for misunderstandings. The humor with which he lived through the decades is the humor of a time when linguistic boundaries were set differently – not harder, not easier, just different.
Gottschalk Moment: A reflection of how much we talk in permanent alarm mode
But today, language is a field of survey. Every punchline is dissected, every irony is weighed, every exaggeration is checked for sentiment. An entertainer who improvises in this climate plays without a net. It’s not dangerous. But it’s risky.
The BAMBI moment isn’t a case study in Gottschalk’s incompetence, but rather a reflection of how much we as a society speak in perpetual alert mode. This carelessness did not harm his career. Gottschalk has long since reached a status where individual sentences no longer define a biography.
But this moment shows how the culture of communication is moving away: on the one hand, a generation that grew up with spontaneity and humor. On the other hand, a society is setting new standards with great care and linguistic precision.
We should not consider this moment as a scandal. But as an opportunity to question ourselves
Both have their own justifications. Both require dialogue. And the two collided — especially when the 73-year-old host improvised while millions of people worked out their anger in real time.
Perhaps we should view this moment less as a scandal and more as an opportunity to question ourselves: Why are we so quick to judge? Why are we so strict with others and so generous with ourselves? And why it’s hard for us to simply see what often happens: a mistake.
When we start treating entertainers as if they were legislators, we not only lose the joy in entertainment. But humanity.
Michael Ehlers is a rhetoric trainer, best-selling author and managing director of the Michael Ehlers Institute GmbH. He trains personalities from politics, business, sports and media. He is part of our EXPERT Circle. The content represents his personal opinion based on his individual expertise.
