Thomas Gottschalk has canceled his upcoming comeback appearance due to health concerns. The popular entertainer was scheduled to moderate the “Golden Ochsensepp” awards ceremony in Munich, an event honoring resistance fighters and former CSU co-founder Josef Müller.
This cancellation is significant because it would have marked Gottschalk’s first public appearance since he openly discussed his cancer diagnosis at the end of last month. He had initially been expected to present the award to former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, but Gottschalk now reports that he has withdrawn from the festivities.
In a statement to the magazine “Der Spiegel”, the 75-year-old actor announced that he would not be appearing on stage publicly before autumn, stating that he needed to observe his health closely.
Holm Dressler, the artistic director of the award ceremony, confirmed that the event has been postponed to September. He expressed his continuing hope that Gottschalk will be able to attend then, if his health permits. Dressler has a history with Gottschalk, having worked with the entertainer on ZDF shows like “Na sowas” and “Wetten, dass…?” in the 1980s.
The “Golden Ochsensepp” award is being presented for the first time this year by the International Friends Circle for Christian-Social Politics (IFCSP), an organization representing Christian-conservative groups, institutions, and companies. Although the event was initially publicized until Wednesday morning with a May 9th date, the show act was set to be Chris de Burgh, and former CSU politician Peter Gauweiler was originally scheduled as the laudator.