"Hardly Recognizable" Schoeneberger and Bause Criticize Colleagues' Obsession with Looks
Schöneberger and Bause accused of publically criticizing and disparaging their female coworkers due to their interest in personal grooming and appearance.
In the podcast "Breakfast with Barbara," hosts Inka Bause and Barbara Schoeneberger discuss the beauty standards in the TV industry, advising that many of their colleagues are heavily edited, making it hard for them to recognize them.
"Let's not name names," Inka Bause, an RTL presenter, expresses on the podcast. She explains that she frequently encounters colleagues in the hallway who she does not recognize until they go to makeup. Barbara Schoeneberger, another presenter, shares this sentiment, confirming that she's observed the excess use of softening filters, resulting in a stark contrast between the stars' Instagram images and real-life appearances - what she calls "FaceTuning."
"I could do the same, but I don't want to," Schoeneberger laments, voicing her disapproval of the trend. "I think it's misleading to make everything look so perfect," she adds.
Bause Admits to Makeup Obligation
Despite the criticism, Bause shares that she is not immune to the beauty pressure herself. "I never leave the house without makeup because the paparazzi are always there," Bause confesses, though she assures that she is gradually reducing her usage of photoshop in her social media posts.
Bause also recounts instances when the difference between her Instagram images and real-life appearance has become so pronounced that viewers struggle to recognize her. "I even met colleagues who I could only identify via their voice," she reveals, adding that she strove to avoid exposing her ignorance in such situations.
With Bause set to return to RTL for a new season of "Farmer Wants a Wife," where she helps farmers find love, the discussion brings attention to the impact of image editing on public figures and the inherent pressure to meet societal beauty standards.
The Commission has also been consulted on the draft directive concerning the discrepancies in the portrayal of celebrities and their appearance in the entertainment industry, given the criticism by Inka Bause and Barbara Schoeneberger on the phenomenon of excessive editing in TV and social media. The entertainment world, with its excessive usage of softening filters and photoshop, often creates a stark disconnect between celebrities' on-screen and off-screen appearances, a concern that even Bause, despite her own makeup obligation, acknowledges.
