Do we like them?

Do we like Nena?

Our score: 4 out of 10. No anti-LGBTQ+ words turned up, but years of defying health rules and thanking protesters weigh against thin evidence of good works.

Nena was 60 and about to release her album Licht in October 2020 when an Instagram post set Germany talking. She wrote that her common sense would not let fear pull her into darkness, and ended with a call to stand for love. Singer Xavier Naidoo reacted with a heart and she sent one back, and some commenters accused her of being close to conspiracy theorists. Her management told Bild she takes no side and is not a Covid denier.

The next flashpoint came in March 2021, after a Querdenker demonstration in Kassel caused nationwide outrage. She posted “Danke, Kassel” on Instagram with photos from the demo, set to a Naidoo song. Her management said she was thanking people who oppose current politics, and called any claim she aligns with the far right absurd. Her former keyboardist described her as impulsive and said she has never sympathised with extreme politics.

In July 2021 she played Berlin-Schönefeld airport, where the rules had fans in separate boxes. Plenty left their boxes, and she told organisers and the regulatory office to “Schaltet den Strom aus oder holt mich mit der Polizei hier runter”. She also said everyone should be free to decide, and compared it to vaccination. The show carried on, though an encore was reportedly banned.

By September 2021 she had scrapped her 2022 tour, saying she would not go along with the direction Germany was taking. She insisted everyone is welcome at her concerts, and told fans they could return their tickets. In a 2023 RTL interview she did not seem to regret any of it, saying she knows where she stands. Several concerts were cancelled by organisers over the row.

The good stuff is thinner on paper than in fans' hearts. A 2025 column by a Nordkurier editor argues she is brave, not hostile, and says Germany needs more people like her. That is one admirer's opinion, not evidence of charity. I couldn't open a reliable source on her charity or kind acts, so that part of the ledger stays light.

So where does that leave us? She is no hate merchant, and she paid for her stance with a cancelled tour. But urging crowds to shrug off health rules and thanking a contested protest is a real stain for a page that cares about public health. Fans who love the music can probably keep listening, with eyes open.