In the survival show “7 vs. Wild,” an incident occurred before the start of the 3rd season: The 63-year-old Andreas Kieling was not allowed to participate in the season. The show’s host, Fritz Meinecke, now explains what exactly happened with the candidate “Affe auf Bike.”
What we know so far:
- The participants of the 3rd season of 7 vs. Wild are back from Canada and the first big news from the show was that the organizing team of the season announced the exclusion of documentary filmmaker Andreas Kieling (63).
- It was said that the 63-year-old had withdrawn during the preparation phase due to an incident with a candidate. The candidate was the 40 years younger Ann-Kathrin Bendixen, known as “Affe auf Bike.”
- The first reaction on social media was from some users attacking the woman and sending her hate comments. However, participants of the show defended her. Twitch streamer Papaplatte said (via twitter), the situation that had occurred was “absolutely not okay.” It was the best and only right decision that Kieling was not allowed to participate.
Kieling denies the accusation
Kieling said: In a statement regarding the accusations, Kieling had his lawyer express (via t-online):
“My client danced with Ann-Kathrin Bendixen during a bus stop on the way to filming in the food area of a gas station in the Greater Vancouver area – like some other couples did as well. The mood was cheerful in anticipation of the production.”
However, there were no breaches of boundaries or violations at any time, said the lawyer.
Candidate shocked by hate messages
The affected party said: Ann-Kathrin Bendixen said (via derwesten) that she did not know how to return to normal life after all the drama. She did not know where is up, where is down. It is madness what our society makes out of something like this.
She is now the person who cannot even get a hand without it being considered sexual harassment.
The statement apparently came after the first very negative reactions on Twitter.
What Fritz Meinecke says now: The founder of the show, Fritz Meinecke, has now described the accusation more precisely (via twitter). Twitch streamer Papaplatte, who also participated in the show, commented on it as well.
Bendixen and Kieling danced together, the woman was wearing pajamas, a onesie, as Papaplatte added.
Kieling grabbed her butt while dancing:
But to basically go straight for the ass, to grab this ass – we’re not talking about a hand slipping down a bit. There was a real good grab, a proper squeeze.
Meinecke says: At that moment, all those involved were in a state of absolute shock.
The candidate immediately resolved the situation afterwards and walked away.
Women demanded not to see Kieling anymore – After more incidents
Have more incidents occurred? Meinecke says that the incident at the gas station was not an isolated case. Kieling had committed further boundary violations:
- He asked the candidate Hannah Assil if she did not have “wet feet” in her cowboy boots and whether they smelled.
- He talked to his partner Joey Kelley for minutes about whether the teams were already set. He would rather go out with Hannah, spend 14 days with “the girls.”
- He asked Affe auf Bike if she had a boyfriend.
Bendixen and Assil approached the organizing team and said they did not want to see Kieling during the project anymore.
Ultimately, the organizing team decided to remove Kieling from the project. That was the team’s decision. They stand behind it.
More about the show:
7 vs. Wild Season 3: All participants have been announced and here they are
