Caroline Bosbach files complaint against Jan Böhmermann

CSU politician Caroline Bosbach has filed a formal program complaint with the ZDF Television Council regarding an episode of ‘ZDF Magazin Royale’ aired on October 2, 2026. The episode, titled ‘How the Church in the East Fights the AfD’, featured satirist Jan Böhmermann making remarks about the depiction of Jesus Christ.

During the broadcast, while an image of a crucifix was shown, Böhmermann used various descriptors for the figure, including ‘genderfluider, bi-neugieriger, halbnackter POC Otter’ and ‘smoking hot skinny legend’. Bosbach characterized these comments as a ‘degradation of the Christian faith’ that exceeds the boundaries of permissible satire.

In her complaint to ZDF Director-General Norbert Himmler and Television Council Chair Gerda Hasselfeldt, Bosbach cited the ZDF State Treaty, which mandates respect for the moral and religious convictions of the population. She argued that the broadcaster failed to uphold guidelines intended to promote mutual understanding between religious communities and to prevent the disparagement of religious content.