Nuhr Hate Preacher?

Is the designation of a cabaret artist as a 'hate preacher' a defamatory statement and thus a violation of the general right of personality, or is the use of this designation covered by the right to freedom of expression? The comedian Dieter Nuhr has now had this legal question decided by the Regional Court (LG) Stuttgart.

The cabaret artist Dieter Nuhr was publicly designated as a 'hate preacher' by Turkish-born entrepreneur Erhat Toka before a performance in Osnabrück. In the autumn of 2014, the entrepreneur had called for a demonstration against the performance by comedian Nuhr. To publicise the demonstration, Mr Toka additionally mounted portrait photographs of Nuhr in prohibition signs and distributed them on the internet.

Nuhr did not accept this and had the entrepreneur cease-and-desist for violation of his general right of personality and demanded that he refrain from making the statements and using the crossed-out portrait photographs. After Toka did not issue a cease-and-desist declaration, the cabaret artist sued the Regional Court (LG) Stuttgart for an injunction.

Court Decision

The Regional Court (LG) Stuttgart has not yet published its reasons for the decision. According to consistent media reports, the Stuttgart Regional Court (LG) considers the use of crossed-out portrait images to be a violation of Nuhr's general right of personality, the public reproduction of which Mr Toka must refrain from.

However, the designation of the cabaret artist as a 'hate preacher' does not constitute a violation of the general right of personality but is covered by the fundamental right to freedom of expression.

Conclusion

For the admissibility of a statement, it is decisive whether it is a factual assertion or a statement of opinion. However, the freedom of expression also has a limit when it is defamatory beyond what is tolerable. In my view, the vilification of cabaret artist Dieter Nuhr as a 'hate preacher' crosses this line. The rejection of the application can only be explained in my view by the fact that a cabaret artist as a public figure must tolerate more than an 'ordinary' citizen.