A year ago, the “Umweltsau” song by the WDR children’s choir caused a stir. Now Jan Böhmermann delivers a new edition of the excitement – with grandma as a corona denier.
In December 2019, a few little singers suddenly became a really big number. The WDR children’s choir sang “My grandma is an old environmental pig” to the melody of the well-known children’s song “My grandma rides a motorcycle in the chicken coop”. The station put the satire video online – and received heavy criticism. WDR director Tom Buhrow had to apologize publicly, the clip was removed from all platforms.
“My grandma knows there is no corona”
After that there was silence – until now. Because none other than Jan Böhmermann took up the topic in his “ZDF Magazin Royale” annual review on Friday. And not only that: He really stepped up again and presented a new edition of the “Umweltsau” song. But this time the fictional grandmother is not a climate sinner, but a corona denier.
And so a children’s choir trilled in front of a wintry backdrop: “My grandma knows that there is no such thing as Corona, Corona, Corona. She no longer believes in daily topics and MoMa. My grandma saw through the game early on.” And further: “My grandma storms the Reichstag, the Reichstag, the Reichstag in black-white-red. So that someone up there finally lets me know. My grandma is now coughing in the resistance.”
Then the point is that grandma “celebrates après-ski in Ischgl” because she “doesn’t feel like social distance”, leads a group with the messenger service Telegram and “has now realized the truth”. To top it off, Böhmermann joins in himself. “My grandma has been in a coma since the day before yesterday, in a coma, in a coma. With a plastic tube in her tracheostomy. Pandemic over and my grandma too,” he sings.
New review after the Böhmermann song
The site has now been clicked almost 60,000 times on YouTube (as of December 19, 2020) and is also spreading rapidly on social media. However, opinions differ. While many celebrate the satire, others criticize the song heavily. “Stunned how Boehmermann is allowed to present himself on ZDF and mock the corona dead and those particularly at risk,” writes a Twitter user. Another thinks: “Age discrimination is what they call it. It’s unbelievable how young people are incited against the older population.”
It remains to be seen whether the new edition will make waves as much as its predecessor.
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