Court says ‘blackfacing’ incident was not racist

The man denied allegations of racism, saying he had no time for that in Appenzell where people “work and don’t look for trouble”. Keystone/gaetan Bally

A court in Appenzell has dismissed a racism case against a yodeller who painted his face black and pretended to be African, reports the SonntagsZeitung.

The case relates to a carnival performance by a yodel choir in November 2022, in which choir head Markus Nef stepped onto the stage with a black-painted face, frizzy wig, drum and grass skirt. Nef, a local farmer, denied allegations of racism, saying he had no time for that in a place where people “work and don’t look for trouble”. He said he had never heard the term “blackfacing” before.

However, the Federal Commission against Racism called the performance “clearly tasteless and racist”. The performance and disguise reproduced racist colonial stereotypes where “black people are belittled for general amusement”, it said, calling for judicial authorities to investigate a possible criminal offence.

The public prosecutor’s office in the northeastern canton Appenzell Outer Rhodes opened criminal proceedings. However, judges have now ruled that while the performance used “typical elements of blackfacing”, the performer did not make racist or derogatory remarks about Africans. They concluded that in the context of the carnival this did not qualify as racism.