It was only a minute at the beginning of a show on private television, but it had power and importance: the entertainers Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf remembered the deceased Austrian doctor Lisa-Maria Kellermayr on Pro7 on Tuesday evening. The two dedicated their ProSieben show “Who is stealing the show from me?”
“Lisa was often a guest on our programs, knew every one of our shows and took vacations to visit our productions. Holidays from her job as a doctor in Austria”, was to be read at the beginning of the program on a black board in white letters, before her tragic case is explained in a few but haunting words. “We mourn the loss of Dr. Lisa Maria Kellermayr. Thank you for your loyalty. Thank you for your applause. Thank you for your commitment. Joko, Klaas, the entire FloridaTV and ProSieben team.”
Kellermayr had been involved in the fight against Corona and had become an object of hate for opponents of vaccination on the Internet. Because of that, the farewell letters published by the media suggest, she was broken. The suicide of the 36-year-old a few days ago has reignited the debate about hate online.
The doctor was often a guest on the Joko and Klaas programs, according to the post by the two entertainers, which was also published on Instagram. During the corona pandemic, she was committed “to the need for vaccination” and was therefore targeted by radical corona deniers and so-called lateral thinkers.
It is not the first time that Joko and Klaas have drawn attention to important social issues with their presence and freedom. “Men’s Worlds” is the title of a 15-minute feature about sexism and sexualized violence that was produced by the two and shown on ProSieben in May 2020 during prime time.
Now back to the issue of violence. Kellermayr had “regularly received explicit and detailed death threats” and the operation of her practice had been repeatedly disrupted. Her call for help was met with “a lack of understanding and inaction from the responsible authorities,” the article said. The police in Austria had defended themselves against allegations that they had reacted too laxly.
Joko and Klaas had repeatedly shown the flag in the Corona crisis. So they gave Olaf Scholz (SPD) a stage shortly before he took office as Federal Chancellor after she had appeared in her show “Joko
One of the biggest fans of Joko Winterscheidt and Klaas Heufer-Umlauf has now died. Kellermayr is said to have pinned photos and autographs in the kitchen of her practice.
