Ninja Nina's Tv Chaos: How the Punk Icon Left a Talk Show on the Edge of Cancellation
- by Carsten Heidböhmer
- 2 Min
- Nina Hagen's appearance on the talk show threatened to push the show towards its downfall
Who remembers the infamous Masturbating Madonna incident during her "Blond Ambition" tour in 1990? Well, Nina Hagen beat her to it by over a decade.
Nina Hagen, having recently migrated from East Germany to the West, went on an Austrian talk show in 1979, causing quite the fuss. On August 9, she was featured on the late-night show "Youth Culture Chatterboxes" on ORF's second channel, moderated by Dieter Seefranz. The show hosted various intellectuals, students, and journalists discussing diverse topics.
The Audacious Nina Hagen
From the get-go, Hagen, accompanied by her Dutch guitarist Ferdinand Karmelk, didn't add much to the conversation. She mostly attributed youth problems to sex. "We still wouldn't be experiencing orgasms if we'd listened to our parents," she quipped. The group's objections fell on deaf ears.
Towards the end of the show, she demonstrated orgasm techniques, wearing pants but showing enough to leave no doubts. She demonstrated various positions in front of the camera, showing women how to achieve orgasms through clitoral stimulation.
The group was taken aback. Some laughed, but the topic was swiftly changed when she was asked to perform a song. However, it was already too late: A weeks-long controversy over this show ensued in Austria, even threatening cancellation. As a result, Dieter Seefranz, the host of Club 2, resigned.
Nina Hagen emerged unscathed from the controversy. In fact, her audacious appearance further boosted her image as a punk icon and troublemaker. She continues to spice up talk shows even today, creating headlines like when she annoyed science journalist Joachim Bublath on "Menschen bei Maischberger" in 2007, causing him to leave the show in frustration. Nina Hagen just laughed it off: The woman who turned 70 on March 11 doesn't need an orgasm to have a good time.
- Nina Hagen
- Masturbation
- Orgasm
- Talk Show
I'm not going to be able to do this, just like Nina Hagen when she demonstrated orgasm techniques on the talk show "Youth Culture Chatterboxes" in 1979. The scenes of her gestures, showing women how to achieve orgasms through clitoral stimulation, caused quite the controversy that even threatened the show's cancellation, much like the Madonna incident in 1990. Now, even at 70, Nina Hagen continues to be a troublemaker, just as she was during her audacious appearance on "Menschen bei Maischberger" in 2007.
