Internet: Lawyer for animal filmmaker Kieling: Allegations are inaccurate

2023-09-01 11:09:02

Internet lawyer for animal filmmakers Kieling: allegations are incorrect

Andreas Kieling, nature photographer and animal filmmaker, has been excluded from the third season of the YouTube format “7 vs. Wild”. photo

© Michael Reichel/dpa

Was there an abusive incident during production? For wildlife filmmaker Andreas Kieling, the speculation is already having consequences. However, his lawyer denies the allegations.

After his exclusion from the third season of the YouTube format “7 vs. Wild”, the animal filmmaker’s lawyer Andreas Kieling (63) rejected the allegations against his client. “At no point did my client cross borders or encroach upon them. The vague allegations and insinuations that give rise to a wide range of speculation are inaccurate,” said lawyer Dirk Giesen on Thursday of the “Bild” newspaper.

Kieling had previously been excluded because of an “incident” in the preparatory phase, the makers said on their Instagram account. “It was a transgression that we could not and did not want to tolerate,” the Instagram story continued. A substitute stepped in for Kieling.

The incident is said to have happened with travel influencer Ann-Kathrin Bendixen. Bendixen has become known as a motorcycle world traveler with her channel “Affe auf Bike”.

In a story on her Instagram channel, she shared that it was a “very uncomfortable crossing of borders” for her. “Andreas then apologized to me for the incident. So the topic is currently over for me.”

Danced in “exuberant mood”.

Kieling’s lawyer described the incident in question as follows: “My client danced with Ann-Kathrin Bendixen during a bus stop on the way to filming in the gastro area of ​​a gas station in the greater Vancouver area – as did several other dance couples. In anticipation of the production, the Atmosphere exuberant. The events on the dance floor were observed by about 10 people who also belonged to the production.” Kieling was surprised by the allegations, but also sees the issue as settled, it said.

Kieling made the headlines last May after being attacked and seriously injured by a bear in the Carpathian Mountains. “Everything that happened, the bear can’t do anything about. I’m the intruder, I invaded his habitat …” the 63-year-old said in a video at the time. The popular documentary filmmaker lives in the Eifel in Rhineland-Palatinate on the border with North Rhine-Westphalia.

With 5.5 million views per episode, “7 vs. Wild” by Fritz Meinecke is one of the most successful German-language YouTube formats. In the first two seasons, participants were abandoned individually with little equipment and no food in the wilderness of Sweden and Panama.

There they had to survive for seven days. But you could call 911 and give up at any time. In the third season, teams of two will try to survive in Canada for 14 days.

dpa