Dictation saying, allegation of sexism, mobbing
Felix Baumgartner: Man of Extreme – and the controversy
07/18/2025 – 00:09 a.m.Reading time: 3 min.
The world -famous parachutist tragically died. Especially after his record jump, he polarized with controversial statements.
Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner is dead. The Austrian died on Thursday afternoon on a paragliding flight in Italy.
He had achieved worldwide celebrity in 2012 when he was the first person to reach sound speed when he jumped from the stratosphere in free fall. On television and on the Internet, many millions of people watched live. It reached a top speed of more than 1,300 kilometers per hour. He also holds the record for the highest manned balloon flight and the highest parachute jump.
His life apart from the extreme sporting and best performances was controversial. He appeared as a controversial character in public, rarely took a leaf out of his mouth and often polarized with his statements.
In 2013, a few months after the space jump, he caused astonishment with political statements when he said that he would prefer a dictatorship of a democracy. “You can’t move in a democracy. We would need a moderate dictatorship where there are a few people from the private sector who really know their way around,” he said when visiting his hometown of Salzburg. The political view of the learned machine locksmith brought him a lot of criticism.
When his Facebook account was closed briefly in 2016, Baumgartner censorship sensed. It was a shame for freedom of expression, he complained. And further: “It looks as if we have become too uncomfortable to the political elites out there.” Baumgartner supported the Austrian presidential candidate of the right FPÖ, Norbert Hofer, who repeatedly shot against the so -called elites.
In 2017, Baumgartner was exposed to an accusation of sexism by the TV presenter Corinna Milborn. At first, she had criticized an advertisement by the underwear manufacturer Palmer, who campaigned with a photo of six lightly dressed women. Baumgartner then followed Milborn: “No wonder with the figure.”
This was followed by a return carriage of Milborn and the invitation to a dispute, which never came about. Baumgartner only explained: “To assume sexism and misogyny to me is borderline, almost perverse.” Because of his derogatory statements about women, he was awarded the negative price “pink handtail” in his home country.
In 2019 he merged with the German satirist Jan Böhmermann. Baumgartner had insulted the TV presenter and his family with an allegedly satirical contribution on a right-wing extremist platform. He had a contribution under the title “Jan Böhmermann, stupid whore or brilliant satirist?” published. He said: “Since you do not need an apprenticeship or a trade license to practice the satirist profession, any satirist can become. That is why I have now written in my Facebook profile” Satiriker “and off I go”.
Just a few days ago, Baumgartner reacted to the statement by Swiss professional footballer Alisha Lehman, who is also on the road as a successful influencer. In an interview with the Italian magazine “La Repubblica”, she complained about the unequal salaries between men and women in football: “We do the same job, but a man earns more than me a hundred thousands of times,” she said.
Baumgartner called on the plan, which countered in clear words: “Imagination is also an education. Of course, women’s football players do not do the same job as their male colleagues. Women do not have the same rates, so there is less money.”
Now the man of extremes died tragically at 56 years.