This year, the actions of some celebrities caused shit storms and public scandal. These stars shot each other out.
The corona crisis, which has been ongoing since spring 2020, caused some celebrities to express themselves unhappy here and there about the pandemic measures in force. Some drifted off completely and sank into a pool of conspiracy theories. But even if the corona crisis dominated the celebrity shitstorms, some stars caused a scandal with completely different appearances and statements.
Musicians against corona measures
Since Michael Wendler (49) announced his end on “DSDS” in an Instagram clip in October 2020 and at the same time terminated his contract with RTL, he has apparently slipped ever deeper into the circle of conspiracy theorists. In January 2021, RTL finally pulled the rip cord. The broadcaster announced in a press release that it would cut it entirely from wacky “DSDS” episodes. The pop singer had claimed that a corona measure set by the federal and state governments on January 5 would create conditions like in concentration camps, from which RTL clearly distanced itself.
Xavier Naidoo (50) also received a lot of attention after a video of him surfaced in March 2020 in which he apparently sang a few lines of a hitherto unpublished song that was celebrated in right-wing circles. RTL kicked him out of the “DSDS” jury. Since the scandal, the singer has mainly been on Telegram and spreading the most bizarre conspiracy theories there. In May of this year, he and 17 rappers released the song “Ich mache nicht da mit”. In it, Naidoo sings, among other things, about the corona vaccination and describes it as “poison”. After repeated anti-Semitic and misanthropic statements, the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe recently decided: He may be called an anti-Semite.
Nena (61) has also been very critical of the Corona measures this year. Your statements during an open-air concert at Berlin Schönefeld Airport caused heated discussions in July. The reason was the audience’s non-compliance with corona rules and the role of the singer in relation to the offenses. Despite their own boxes for the audience, many did not obey the rules and gathered right in front of the stage. According to a report by the “Tagesspiegel” Nena even asked the audience to come up to celebrate with her. The organizer threatened to cancel the concert, whereupon the singer reacted with incomprehension.
After her subsequent appearances were repeatedly canceled, Nena finally canceled her entire tour for 2022 in September. “I stand by my statement: Everyone is welcome at a Nena concert”, she wrote on Instagram. “Here in our country, things are going in a completely different direction at the moment and I’m not participating,” she emphasized.
Lockdown consequences worse than Corona?
At the end of January, presenter Marlene Lufen (51) provided a 14-minute long, emotional video on Instagram caused a stir and made waves with it. The numerous reactions to her monologue ranged from absolute approval to sharp criticism. The most controversial statement in Lichten’s Instagram video: “I have a feeling that in two or three years we will look back on this time and think we did it wrong.” Her statements were based on her fear that the forced isolation would severely affect children in particular and that they would increasingly become victims of domestic violence. Even for people with depression, the lockdown is almost unbearable. Many fans criticized their clip, describing it as manipulative and the numbers and data shown in it as misleading.
# seal everything
In March, 53 German actors, including Jan Josef Liefers (57) and Volker Bruch (41), commented on the federal government’s corona policy using the hashtag #allesdichtmachen. They made their statements in short clips, often peppered with irony. Bruch and Liefers in particular received Shitstorms for their participation in the questionable campaign. In his statement, for example, Liefers criticized the media and their pandemic reporting.
In a later interview with the actors, however, Volker Bruch’s statements stood out in particular. In addition to justifications, he added, among other things, that he found the “grassroots democratic approach” of the party “interesting”. Later the party, which was close to the lateral thinker, stated that Bruch had tried to become a member. He is also said to have violated the mask and distance requirement on the set of “Babylon Berlin”. At the beginning of August, he also took part in protests against the pandemic measures in Berlin. Because of the scandal surrounding him, he has now been voted the most embarrassing Berliner 2021 by the magazine “tipBerlin”. The newspaper calls him, among other things, a “poster boy of the conspiracy ideology”.
Royal scandal
In March, an interview hit like a bomb. Duchess Meghan (40) and Prince Harry (37) sat down with talk legend Oprah Winfrey (67) and chatted some details about the British royals. Meghan spoke about massive mental problems, suicidal thoughts and alleged racism at court, among other things. Although Duchess Meghan did not give any details and did not reveal who should have had concerns about Archie’s skin color (2), it was a massive affront to Queen Elizabeth II (95) and all British royals. Harry confirmed his broken relationship with his father Prince Charles (73). He also literally said that his father had “dropped” him. He will “always love his father, but there is a lot of pain”. In June, Harry and Meghan became the parents of their little daughter Lilibet (6 months).
Allegations of double standards against Oliver Pocher
Since the beginning of the corona pandemic, comedian Oliver Pocher (43) has been providing entertainment on his Instagram channel by pointing with his index finger at influencers who, in his opinion, drew attention to themselves with questionable actions. He especially found those who did not always adhere to the Corona measures. When he himself disregarded rules that were used to contain the pandemic in September 2021, a huge shit storm followed. When Pietro Lombardi (29) appeared, the comedian was taken away by the police. He is said to have disregarded corona rules. In several Instagram stories, the 43-year-old explained what had happened. The entertainer skipped barriers, which resulted in the organizer calling the police.
Pocher first tried to talk to the two police officers who appeared. They still led him off the site. He found the action “exaggerated” at the time, as he explained on Instagram. After all, he apparently learned from it around three months after the action and even apologized. On the show “Reckoning of the Year”, Pocher said: “I made a mistake, I might have had to react differently”.
Til Schweiger against child vaccination
In September, the trailer for the Austrian documentary film “Another Freedom” caused a stir. Because actor Til Schweiger (57) also spoke up and was critical of corona vaccinations for children. “This virus is absolutely harmless for children. And the risk of such a vaccination, which has not been researched, is much higher than the virus itself. That is why I personally consider it appalling. I find it horrific,” one hears Schweiger in the trailer to say. In doing so, he contradicted the STIKO’s assessments.
He also denounced the alleged way of dealing with unvaccinated people: “The other bad thing is the change in the law that has more or less suspended our Basic Law. And now people are practically blackmailed or seduced by saying: ‘Yes, we give you a part of your basic rights, […] then you can travel again and then the children can go to Grandma again without fear. ‘”
Joshua Kimmich and the vaccination debate
A debate broke out in October after national soccer player Joshua Kimmich (26) openly admitted that he had not yet been vaccinated against the corona virus. Well-known personalities from the world of politics and football gave their opinion. As an unvaccinated person, Kimmich had come into contact with infected people several times and was unable to take part in training sessions and games due to the quarantine regulations. As a consequence, it was discussed whether his salary should be cut during the quarantine.
At the end of November, he himself suffered from Covid-19 and then suffered from lung problems – the Bayern star will be out until the end of the year. During the final examination, he was found to have water in his lungs. After surviving the infection, he said in an interview with “sportstudio reportage”that he is now considered recovered for the time being. This status then lasts for a while and “if it is recommended, I will get vaccinated”.
The Astroworld drama
At the Astroworld music festival in Houston, Texas, on November 5, ten people were killed in a mass panic. Hundreds more were injured, some seriously. At least 125 victims are now trying to bring both the organizing company and Travis Scott (51) himself to legal responsibility. Fans accused the rapper on the net of ignoring warnings about mass panic. Despite an ambulance standing in the crowd, Scott is said not to have canceled the show.
According to media reports, the total compensation claimed has so far been around 660 million euros. At the beginning of December, Travis Scott first commented in detail on the tragedy in an interview. In it he rejected the guilt, among other things, and emphasized: “I just want to always be there for you, I will solve this problem and make sure that something like this does not happen in the future.”