A comedian has landed in hot water after joking that right-wingers and anti-vaxxers are the “appendix” of society, so can be removed without issue. However, she’s been accused of rhetoric straight out of the “Nazi playbook.”
Sarah Bosetti, who hosts a satirical podcast on German public broadcast network ZDF, made the controversial remarks in the latest episode on Friday, before doubling down on them on her Twitter. In the clip, she rants about the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, as well as about those who are resistant to getting a jab.
While Covid-19 mandates may cause a “split,” Bosetti contends, that might not be such a bad thing. She reasons that, rather than society ending up being divided, a small fraction of people on the right would simply break away. And like having a grumbling appendix removed, those who remained really wouldn’t notice their absence.
“An appendix is not exactly essential, strictly speaking, for the survival of the whole system. On the contrary, whenever it gets inflamed and cries out, ‘Hey, people – I’m still there!’, it simply gets on everybody’s nerves,” she said. Bosetti also pre-empted would-be nitpickers, saying the real-life appendix actually “plays an important role in the body,” parrying, “It’s not a biology lecture!”
The comedian’s remarks received a rather mixed reaction, with many calling Bosetti out over her apparent dehumanization of anti-vaccination activists, and some even accusing her of using Nazi tropes.
Others supported her, approving the idea of “splitting off” the anti-vaxxers and “Nazis” from society. Some riffed on her surgery metaphor, saying it was necessary to remove an inflamed appendix before the infection spread to other parts of the body.
The controversy around the remarks prompted Bosetti to issue a clarification. She brushed off the Nazi playbook accusations, insisting the anti-vaxxers were separating themselves from the rest of society through choice, and denying she was advocating any separation by force. Her latest post has since provoked a new round of in-fighting in the comments.