The German adventurer Fritz Meinecke has had great success with his survival show “7 vs. Wild” on YouTube, but has repeatedly gotten into controversies. In response to a request regarding this, he recently reacted with a rant on Instagram and really let loose.
Who is Fritz Meinecke?
- Fritz Meinecke is a German web video producer from Magdeburg
- Over 2 million people follow his survival and bushcrafting adventures on YouTube (as of July 2022)
- His survival show “7 vs. Wild”, where he and six other participants faced the Swedish wilderness, was watched by up to 6.5 million people
- In June 2022, he announced the participants of Season 2 – including gaming influencer Knossi
- Recently, he has repeatedly come under criticism
- He apparently seems annoyed by the criticism and expresses his views about the “softened do-gooders” on Instagram
Meinecke feels restricted – Fears backlash when he speaks his mind
This is what happened: Since mid-July, Meinecke has come under repeated criticism. During a bike tour in Hungary, he made a sexist remark towards a woman and used her face as a thumbnail for a YouTube video. (via Play Central)
During a Q&A session on his Instagram channel on July 25, 2022, he received the message “why always so toxic”. In response, Meinecke, who is currently on a tropical island, delivered a rant.
Meinecke opens his tirade with the statement that he often holds back a lot. If he were to actually say what he thinks, he would probably be banned everywhere. What we have seen so far is therefore just the tip of the iceberg.
Why does he hold back so much? Meinecke also mentions a reason for his perceived restraint: If he were to say what he really thinks, he would probably have no more partners for collaboration. He also fears a “whole new level” of the word “shitstorm”.
Clearly, he feels that he can no longer express himself freely. You can no longer offend anyone anywhere, you have to justify yourself for everything. He finds clear words for that and even underscores it with a vomiting emoji.
This overly softened do-gooder society really gets on my nerves. […] Always politically correct.
Fritz Meinecke via Instagram
What exactly bothers him? However, Meinecke elaborates further and comments on topics that are often discussed very emotionally. Among them are trigger warnings and the so-called gender language. He apparently doesn’t think much of either, nor of political correctness as a whole.
Now the anger over Meinecke’s statements is boiling over
These are the reactions: The post spread on Twitter, where it was shared by “Rocket Beans TV” moderator Simon Krätschmer, accompanied by the comment “Is this that 7 vs. child?” Discussions quickly arose under this and other posts. (via Twitter)
On one side, like-minded people are speaking out. They consider Meinecke particularly authentic as he apparently speaks to their souls. “I think and say exactly the same thing all the time,” states a Twitter user. (via Twitter)
What the critics say: On the other hand, there is a flood of criticism. Time and again it is mentioned how many sensitive topics Meinecke can cover in a single post. The Twitch streamer Kim, alias freiraumreh, sums it up well:
How do I best package gender language, toxic masculinity, trans, sexism, trigger warnings, softening of society, and ‘I’m still a man with real balls and I can’t express myself freely’ into one slide?
freiraumreh via Twitter
Others are bothered by the apparent double standards. After all, it is Meinecke himself who seemingly cannot take criticism and feels directly attacked.
Some have already announced that they will no longer watch the second season of “7 vs. Wild” and question the participation of internet personalities who otherwise stand for completely different values. (via Twitter)
Both sides feel strengthened by the statements of the other party. Those are exactly the people this is about.
Between the fronts, there are also some more neutral voices. They find the statements not good, but do not feel it is worth getting all worked up about, it is said. (via Reddit)
Meinecke addresses topics that polarize society
Why the statements are problematic: With his recent actions, Meinecke touches upon many controversial topics: such as trigger warnings and gender language. There are people for whom these matters are very important. Others find them unnecessary and disturbing.
Opinions on these topics vary widely and polarize society. The explosive nature of it was evident a few weeks ago when Fynn Kliemann complained about the “woke left scene”.
Even if Meinecke himself has not made direct statements of this kind, he addresses content that often appears in homophobic, transphobic, sexist, or discriminatory contexts.
Formulations like “do-gooders” and “You should still be able to say that!” are negatively connoted for many people.
Meinecke also plays on a fear of self-censorship: If he says what he thinks, he could get into trouble, which is why he constantly has to hold back.
The trouble could be, for instance, the loss of collaboration partners or the cancellation of participants for his show.
So far, there have been no official statements from the participants, but participant Starletnova liked a post on Twitter that at least expressed misunderstanding about Meinecke’s statements. What consequences will arise for the show remains to be seen.
Not only Fritz Meinecke is currently polarizing with controversial statements. The kickboxer and streamer Andrew Tate also regularly shocks with misogynistic comments. Now he was supposed to help a 17-year-old impress a peer. That however went terribly wrong.
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