Comedian and actor Bastian Pastewka has voiced concern over the tightening restrictions on freedom of opinion and press in the United States. Speaking to the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” he remarked that “autocrats simply lack humor. That can make them somewhat laughable, but we must not be fooled by their absurdity”. He warned that “what a U.S. president is doing right now poses a dangerously threatening risk to global cohesion”.
Pastewka, who has never been censored himself, urges vigilance. “Critical voices are the first to be silenced by autocratic governments-and perhaps by fascist systems” he said.
Turning to German politics, he noted that developments in America can serve as a model for other nations. “We are experiencing a rightward shift in Germany after a recent political turn toward the right” he explained. He described Germany’s democracy as fragile, adding that right‑wing extremists seek opportunities to attack public broadcasters such as ARD and ZDF, even as they lack concrete suggestions for improvement. Their tactics, he said, merely fan hate and stir unrest.
Pastewka concluded that entertainers and satirists are among the first targets of such attacks because they represent self‑determined opinions.