“2023 – a year that made headlines from second to second.” A first moving look back at the past twelve months took place on RTL on Thursday evening. Steffen Hallaschka (51) welcomed prominent guests at “2023! People, Images, Emotions” such as reality TV star Evelyn Burdecki (35), TV chef Tim Mälzer (52), drag queen Olivia Jones (54), FDP politician Marie -Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (65), The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger (54) and actor Til Schweiger (59). Speaking of headlines… Schweiger spoke live on television in Hallaschka’s studio for the first time about the allegations surrounding the filming of “Manta Manta – Second Part”.
“This year started bombastically and then had a little kink,” said the actor, looking back on the year 2023. Serious accusations were made against Schweiger in the spring. In a report by “Spiegel” he was accused of abusing power and alcohol on the “Manta Manta” set. Schweiger initially “didn’t take it seriously,” as he explained to Hallaschka. “I have never been domineering, I have never abused my power,” he clarified.
But Schweiger also admitted that he had “sometimes lost his tone”. He has been filming with the same people for many years, but this time there were many new employees on set. “I had some arguments with them because I wasn’t happy with their work.” But he never wanted to “extra hurt” anyone.
He has already apologized for the slap in the face that he gave an employee after he refused to let the actor on set because he was very drunk “and he accepted my apology.” Schweiger had “lost control” and could no longer really remember the incident. His summary of 2023 was therefore unsurprisingly: “What I took away is that I no longer want to lose control.”
After Schweiger’s short guest appearance, Olivia Jones immediately responded to his statement. “I don’t think you can let it get as far as Til did.” As a restaurateur, she knows how to dose alcohol incorrectly. “The dose is the poison.”
Tim Mälzer hasn’t drunk alcohol for ten months. His consumption had become too much for him. At the moment he likes to leave the bottle alone. But he could “understand” Schweiger’s behavior: When you’re “under so much pressure” about a project, you need an outlet at some point.
When September arrived, Hallaschka also discussed the separation of Oliver Pocher (45) and Amira Pocher (31). The look immediately went to Evelyn Burdecki, who is known to be a close friend of the ex-couple. “I’m good with both of them, I comforted both of them. I was actually hoping for a happy ending. But you shouldn’t interfere with that,” she revealed. It now “no longer” looks like a happy ending, Burdecki added.
This year’s edition of the RTL annual review ended with an entertaining interview with Mick Jagger (80). The singer and his band The Rolling Stones released their 24th studio album, “Hackney Diamonds,” in October. It is the Rolling Stones’ first studio album with new songs since “A Bigger Bang”, which was released around 18 years ago. Even though Jagger has been in the music business for decades, he still felt “pressure”: “Of course you then ask yourself whether people will like your music. I like my music, but will the fans like it?”
But the 80-year-old could already breathe a sigh of relief: “Hackney Diamonds” is the most successful record of 2023 in Germany so far. With this wave of success, it’s no wonder that the Rolling Stones are already working on another album. Jagger cannot yet reveal when this will be released. “We’ve just started. But it won’t take another 18 years.”
Last but not least, there was a little chat about artificial intelligence and its controversial use in show business. “I actually think it’s quite fun,” Jagger said. “I was recently experimenting with someone else’s voice. […] It was a famous English singer.” Even at the proud age of 80, the Brit is always open to new things: “You should always look for new challenges.”
