"Huge mistake"

Oliver Pocher slapped in the face: rapper apologizes

Oliver Pocher

(Bild: Dieter Menne / dpa / picturedesk.com)

Rapper Fat Comedy has apologized "from the bottom of his heart" two years after an attack on Oliver Pocher on the sidelines of a boxing match. "It was a huge mistake," said the 24-year-old accused of assault at the start of the criminal trial in Dortmund on Friday.

He had actually only wanted to make a "verbal statement" to Pocher, but then anger got the better of him and he lashed out with his right hand. The powerful blow was wrong and he regrets the act.

"Life-threatening situation" for Pocher
Pocher is a co-plaintiff in the trial and described as a witness that the punch came completely out of nowhere.

The situation was opaque, he said, he did not know whether further blows would follow, whether Fat Comedy had a knife with him or whether there were possibly other perpetrators in the room. The 46-year-old spoke of a "certain life-threatening situation".

Oliver Pocher was a guest at a boxing match a good two years ago - and received a slap in the face from rapper Fat Comedy.

(Bild: Revierfoto / Action Press / picturedesk.com)

Punch caused hearing impairment
The defendant is accused of intentional bodily harm. Among other things, he is said to have caused hearing impairment in Pocher, who had been watching a boxing match in the Westfalenhalle in March 2022. The comedian was treated with cortisone injections for tinnitus.

"Humiliating display"
The public prosecutor's office had pleaded for a suspended prison sentence of ten months. Pocher appeared as a witness and joint plaintiff. His lawyer had demanded a prison sentence for Fat Comedy. His attack was by no means spontaneous, but had been planned in advance, as evidenced by the commissioned filming of the act.

Oliver Pocher at the court case against his attacker.

(Bild: Dieter Menne / dpa / picturedesk.com)

Pocher had also become a victim in two respects in view of the "humiliating display" of the slap on the Internet and numerous postings by the defendant. The video, which shows the attacker slapping the comedian in the face without warning, is said to have been clicked millions of times.

A video shows the attacker punching him in the face without warning. The criminal trial was postponed several times.

The Dortmund district court ruled on Friday that the accused must pay 120 daily rates of 15 euros each for intentional bodily harm. The verdict is not final, appeals are possible.