Cologne / Berlin – RTL host Katja Burkard has publicly apologized for the use of the word “gypsy life” in a live broadcast by her presenter. Without mentioning the controversial word again, the 56-year-old wrote on Friday about a photo on her Instagram channel: “I used a word that insulted Roma and Sinti. Of course, this should not happen, and I can’t explain it to myself either. I want to make it clear I abhor any form of racism and discrimination.” In the same vein, Burchard turned to the RTL audience on Friday.
On Thursday, the presenter gave an interview to an immigrant on “Punkt 12” with co-star Roberta Billing. “When they get older, like our Roberta,” she said of the children, “the life of a gypsy has no more to do with it.”
The Central Council of Sinti and Roma wrote a letter to the editor-in-chief
The head of Germany’s Central Council of Sinti and Roma, Romani Rose, expressed his indignation in an open letter to RTL editor-in-chief Michael Wolf: “We will no longer tolerate the ignorant and insulting behavior of the media towards members of our minority.” Burchard wrote on Instagram that she wanted to take up the topic in her program and she can “only apologize”.
RTL invited the founder of the “RomAnity” initiative, Radoslav Janev, to join the program on Monday to address the issue of everyday racism, an RTL spokeswoman said upon request. “Because it’s so important to us, we will once again make all colleagues internally aware of this,” Burchard said Friday in “Item 12″ at the start of the program. I promised.”
The word “Zigeunerleben” in German used to mean life which is largely characterized by change, upheaval, or movement. The word “gypsy” and words derived from it are nowadays generally seen as pejorative towards Roma and Sinti.
