319 pages of frustration and soul-searching Thomas Gottschalk quarrels with the zeitgeist - and his son
He repeatedly stirs up emotions with his statements: Thomas Gottschalk's thoughts are now also available "unfiltered" in book form. How much does the TV entertainer cause offense this time?
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- In his new book "Unfiltered", Thomas Gottschalk expresses his views on topics such as Taylor Swift, gender and Generation Z, deliberately avoiding political correctness.
- Gottschalk reflects on past missteps, but maintains that he has no regrets and has always adapted to the public's taste as an entertainer.
- He criticizes the spirit of the times, especially young people who have turned their backs on television, and shows a lack of understanding for his son's Mickey Mouse tattoo.
He no longer has to be "cool" - and not politically correct either: Thomas Gottschalk (74) is currently promoting his new book "Unfiltered".
In it, the show host reveals his thoughts on the hype surrounding Taylor Swift, the RTL jungle camp and his departure from "Wetten, dass ...?". The subtitle also talks about confessions. Self-criticism is not one of them.
His book, which will be published this Wednesday (October 16), is for all those who are a little embarrassed to speak differently than they think, says the entertainer to the German Press Agency.
"I have often met people like this and like to refer to them as the 'silent majority' and have long belonged to this group myself. Even if some interviewers put me in a right-wing corner or consider me 'uncool'."
Committed to the taste of the public
The entertainer recently caused offense with statements about physical contact with female guests, for example with the Spice Girls at the end of the 90s. "I touched women on TV purely for business. Like an actor who kisses in a movie because it's in the script. I won't be accused of that as an attack," he told Der Spiegel. Nevertheless, he wouldn't do that today.
In his book, he writes that he was also made the embarrassing forefather of the gentleman's joke. In this case, he admits to a few slips of the tongue that would never slip out today, he continues.
"Certain things no longer fit in with the times, whether I see it that way or not doesn't matter, as an entertainer you are only obliged to the public's taste," says the 74-year-old TV presenter. "If they change, you have to change too." At the same time, he also emphasizes: "I have no regrets."
Gen-Z and gendering
Gottschalk, who is one of Germany's best-known entertainers, had already written two books before "Ungefiltert": "Herbstblond" from 2015 and "Herbstbunt" from 2019. In the passages on the 319 pages of his new book, he comes across as a time traveler struggling with the present. Many of the topics he addresses are and have been discussed many times before. In the foreword entitled "Dear readers", he wonders about gendering.
"When I greet my 'audience', I mean everyone. Old and young. Homosexuals as well as heterosexuals, rich and poor," he says. "They feel it too and I get it confirmed time and time again," emphasizes the entertainer, who has since moved back to Bavaria from Baden-Baden. Why should he go off on a mental tangent or do something that might earn him points with some people as "gendering" just because the zeitgeist demands it of him?
In another chapter, he takes a closer look at Generation Z, which is in favor of work-life balance instead of a career. "I have to admit that I am also one of those who ask themselves anxiously: '... and how is this supposed to go on?"
This generation is lost to television. "Gen-Z doesn't want to know anything about television anymore."
Mickey Mouse tattoo of son also an issue
It's not just young people who get their comeuppance in Gottschalk's new work, the younger of his two sons also has to listen to a lot about his "gruesome collection of tattoos on his body, one of which doesn't match the other". There's a Mickey Mouse caricature next to Gothic lettering. He not only has a problem with the mix of styles - he also doesn't want to understand why a person would want to go through life with a Mickey Mouse on their body, writes the entertainer.
When you read his book, you have two options, says Gottschalk. "You can agree with me or have a completely different opinion. Either is fine with me." You can't learn anything from him. "I wrote it for anyone who is interested in my thoughts on the current situation in show business."
So far, he has always said what has guaranteed him the most applause, Gottschalk continued. "At my age, you don't have to be 'cool' anymore, I've been that all my life."
