opinion
Thrown off track
Mario Barth, the comedian of the people? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that!
The comedian Mario Barth
© AAPimages / Berndt / Picture Alliance
The comedian of the little people? This is how Mario Barth likes to present himself. However, the millionaire has now proved that he has no idea how to deal with “normal” people on an equal footing.
It’s often said that the funniest comedians are the most serious people off the stage. A cliché that I can definitely confirm, at least from my previous meetings for interviews. Occasionally, however, it is also said that the cuddy, most approachable comedians are the most rude in private, with their noses up. Of course, I can’t and don’t want to comment on this claim, it’s often about the wrong expectations of the fans and the need of artists to just have peace and quiet and some privacy. In the case of Mario Barth, however, I remember complaints from backstage and service staff at a large arena where he had performed several times.
I and a friend got lost in the catacombs of the renowned location after a boozy after-show party by a German techno band, and so we spent the rest of the night chatting very nicely with the remaining employees in the hallway in front of the arena kitchen. And the boys and girls were no friends of Mario Barth: Compared to big bands, famous artists and also compared to well-known colleagues like Cindy from Marzahn, who was very nice, working with him was always extremely time-consuming and unpleasant.
Mario Barth, the friend of “normal people”?
This anecdote only because Barth likes to present himself as a friend of the little people. Think of his show “Mario Barth reveals” and also of his comedy, which is perfectly adapted to the “simple man”. In real life, the 49-year-old apparently doesn’t care much about the “simple people” who finance his lifestyle so well. His current, probably biggest faux pas only makes this clear again: Barth drove with two companions in the ICE, the three sat in their own compartment. When a train conductor entered the compartment, the comedian was not wearing his mask. He states that he had been drinking beforehand. He does not want to know anything about the applicable mask requirement, he assumed that he would not necessarily have to continue wearing it because the small group was sitting in its own compartment.
The conductor, who has to enter numerous such compartments every day to do his job, understandably saw it differently. He pointed out to Barth that Deutsche Bahn was obligated to wear a mask, after which he began to discuss the matter. Apparently so heated that the conductor finally announced that he would make use of his house rules and expel him and his companions from the train at the next station. There – in Hanau – Barth was received by the police, as would have happened to any other troublemaker of this kind. You can read all about the incident here.
insults and self-portrayal
After this incident, Barth would have liked to present himself again as the voice of the weak, small and oppressed, but he didn’t succeed. Because not only does one get the feeling when watching the video clip he shared that the train ride itself somehow seems to be below his level, the health of the conductor and his companions is apparently not particularly interested in him. He accuses the railway employee of having a personal problem with him – insulting the man, who only conscientiously enforces the applicable rules, but in turn with sayings like: “I think he has problems with his bowel movements.”
Even with the federal police officers who had been called to the scene, he was still keenly discussing, then threatened his lawyer in all directions. Mario Barth, a millionaire – who previously said that he had reserved, “bought” all the seats in the 6-seater compartment for only three people, so that people could keep to themselves – then insists indignantly that after the self-inflicted ejection wants the money back for his tickets because he one Stop from Hanau to Frankfurt was not allowed to continue. It’s not hard to see: Mario Barth is all about one thing: Mario Barth. And Mario Barth lives in a world where the problems of “ordinary people” are nothing but funny anecdotes. Corona infections? crimes? rules and laws? Consideration? All of that is not in it. A Barth stands above the things that are immovable for other people. The people’s comedian? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that.
Really gags for the new program?
“That’s a new program,” the excited Barth tries to joke as he hurries through the Hanau train station. However, he should reconsider that after reading the comments under his own Instagram post with the corresponding video. “So far I found you really good – so far,” writes one woman. “If you think that you can do anything as a celebrity, then I almost feel sorry for you. People who do their job, ridicule, threaten with lawyers and support the lateral thinkers, that’s not possible.” And that sums up the incident pretty well.