Henning Baum
Annoyed by the lack of tolerance for humor
Henning Baum is skeptical.
© imago images/Future Image
Henning Baum criticizes the lack of tolerance for “outlandish” jokes in Germany. And he thinks humor is important in society.
Henning Baum (49) is annoyed by the “absence of humor” in Germany. The actor laments the “tolerance” to more uncomfortable forms of humor. That has given way to a “kind of outrage,” as Baum said in the current March issue of “Playboy.”
Henning Baum can be seen on RTL+ as “The King of Palma” from February 24, 2022. In the drama series he plays a Dortmund family man who tries his luck with a beer garden in Mallorca in the early 1990s. In the interview with the men’s magazine, the actor was asked what annoys him about the island. Instead of answering, Baum vented about what annoys him about Germany.
“Tolerance to devious jokes” in jeopardy
“This lack of humor in Germany annoys me. We had actually developed quite well in the last few decades, but in the last two or three years that has been scaled back a lot,” said Henning Baum. “Tolerance for the absurd joke has decreased, and a kind of outrage has taken its place”.
It’s no longer about “being outraged at injustice, but about feeling better about being angry and pointing fingers at others.”
For the actor, who likes to laugh privately at black, coarse humor, laughter fulfills an important function in civil society. Humor is needed to let off steam. “Otherwise there will be a kind of constipation.”