- Title: Slovenian comic's parody has Merkel dancing with "zombie" refugees
- Date: 3rd July 2017
- Summary: LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA (JUNE 16, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SLOVENIAN COMEDIAN, KLEMEN SLAKONJA, SAYING: "Why zombies? Zombies, because I think the refugees that are coming to Europe, they are like zombies when they come here. They're not to be blamed for that, but I think when they come here they don't have opportunities that they should get. So they are like living dead here. Like zombies. So there's the metaphor there, in the video." VARIOUS OF VIDEO DIRECTOR, MIHA KNIFIC, ON SET (SOUNDBITE) (Slovenian) VIDEO DIRECTOR, MIHA KNIFIC, SAYING: "Angela (Merkel) publicly stated that she likes theatre and opera, and Germany is very strong in that area, so we decided to do it this way on purpose. So what we have in the video is a theatre play that shows Angela's vision of the world. Like when we did Putin, we decided to stage it as a circus - and politics is always a circus - and with Trump we had lots of bling, because he is a part of that world."
- Embargoed: 17th July 2017 11:48
- Keywords: Merkel German chancellor parody comedian social media
- Location: LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA
- City: LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA
- Country: Slovenia
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Human Interest / Brights / Odd News
- Reuters ID: LVA0096O5XZRT
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A Slovenian comic who has attracted millions of online hits with extravagant musical parodies of such figures as Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and the pope gives Angela Merkel the same satirical treatment in a clip released on Monday (July 3).
Klemen Slakonja plays the German chancellor in the YouTube video, along with a cast of dozens. Merkel dances with the German national soccer team as well as with "refugees" made up to resemble zombies. Adolf Hitler and Trump make brief cameo appearances.
"Refugees coming to Europe ... don't have the opportunities that they should get, so they are like the living dead here," Slakonja explained to Reuters.
Slakonja, 32, whose main job is as an actor with the Slovenian National Theatre, said he planned to make parodies of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un next. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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