Covid in Austria: 'Cancelled' Actress Returns to the Stage, Chastises Feminists and Politicos
Surprisingly, despite remaining 'unvaccinated', Nina Proll (49) is back--and she has a lot of interesting things to say: where are the (self-declared) thought leaders now?
Oh my, today I saw something that I hadn’t thought possible: legacy media provided a platform to Nina Proll (Wikipedia bio). Ms. Proll, once one of the darlings of German-language entertainment on the stage and before the cameras, had spent the past three years as an outcast, if only for remaining ‘unvaccinated’. With contracts ‘cancelled’ and virtually everyone from politicians, ‘experts™’, and ‘journos’ in legacy media chastising her for her decision. This is a translated paragraph-long summary from her German-language Wikipedia entry (source; my emphases; references omitted):
During the COVID 19 pandemic, Proll emerged as one of the loudest voices in Austria against the federal government’s measures to contain the pandemic. In 2021, Proll became involved in the [anti-lockdown] campaign #allesdichtmachen and in #allesaufdentisch [calling society to come clean] as well as through publicly effective statements in discussions against Corona vaccination and measures. She also spoke out publicly against vaccinating children against the Corona virus and supported petitions against compulsory masks in class. In January 2022, she joined the initiative ‘zukunftjetzt’. The initiative speaks out against compulsory vaccination and locates a ‘danger to democracy’ in the Corona protection measures.
Needless to say, Ms. Proll’s English-language entry omits this information.
Unlike many others in her profession—or in academia, for that matter—Ms. Proll not only spoke out forcefully against the mandates, but she didn’t merely talk the talk. Faced with a veritable Hobson’s Choice of ‘getting vaxxed’ or losing her income, Nina Proll chose the latter. Throughout the WHO-declared so-called ‘pandemice’, Ms. Proll not only remained ‘unvaccinated’, but also unbent, unbowed, and, above all, spoke out consistently in favour of her values and convictions. Kudos to her.
The below incorporates my translations from two legacy (!) media pieces that appeared recently: a long-ish portrait of Nina Proll by establishment magazine News (which is approx. like The New Republic, i.e., with correspondingly few readers) that was published on 22 Sept. 2023 (source), and the tabloid compilation that appeared on 5 Oct. 2023 in Heute (source). Together, these two pieces show a strong, independent woman, a mother of two, who apparently has little problem walking the proverbial walk. Translations and emphases mine, as are the bottom lines.
Who is Nina Proll?
News, 22 Sept. 2023
Some love her, others shake their heads when they hear her name: Nina Proll may be many things, but she is certainly not someone who flies under the radar. The Austrian actress polarises time and again with statements on social debates.
Nina Proll and #metoo
In 2017, Nina Proll first caused a big upraor during the #metoo debate when she accused feminists of victim worship under the hashtag #notme. She had never been harassed herself, but that was probably because she found ‘sexual advances from a man basically off-turning…and not harassment’, she wrote in a Facebook post.
Proll’s words triggered a wave of indignation [by whom, one might ask—’the usual suspects’, I’d answer…], her words were considered cynical, demeaning, and a slap in the face for those who experienced violence, critics accused her. However, Proll was not prepared to give in and stood by her statements [kudos!, but also: so few people in the midst of a shitstorm do that]
Nina Proll and Corona
The actress also caused further uproar with various comments [orig. Wortspenden, which is a very derogatory way of adding a lot of negative slant into anyone’s statements] about the measures taken on the occasion of the Corona pandemic and the Corona management of the Austrian government. But she did not stop with comments, Proll even wrote two songs of her own (‘Welcome in Democracy’ [orig. Willkommen in der Demokratie] and ‘I’ll report you, too’ [orig. I zag di au]) in which she strongly criticised the government and the measures. She also called for a controversial petition against compulsory masking in school via her Facebook page [since when is it ‘controversial’ to fight for one’s children?].
Always political?
Proll is well aware that her statements polarise because she is direct and [steadfast in her] views. In her opinion, however, this is ‘only because of the changing times, not because of me’, she tells News. So was everything better in the past? Not at all. In fact, the actress was not so political in the past, but she is becoming ‘more and more so the older [I] get’, says Proll…
There isn’t much more in that News piece that is news-worthy (no pun intended), with perhaps the information that Ms. Proll appears to be happily married, has two sons with fellow actor Georg Bloéb, and they all live on a remote farm in the mountains of the Tyrol (hi, fellow farm-dwellers). Now, let’s turn to the other piece, shall we?
Note that the interview that is mentioned below appeared in the print edition of News, which I don’t have access to here in Norway.
‘My reputation is ruined’—Now Nina Proll Speaks Candidly [orig. Klartext]
Heute, 5 Oct. 2023
Since 5 September she has been back in front of the camera for the fifth ‘Altaussee crime thriller’ [a crime show playing in the countryside, as opposed to the so-prevalent big city adaptations from the US]. In it, the 49-year-old also takes on the role of the lead investigator for the first time alongside her colleague, village policeman Gasperlmaier (Johannes Silberschneider). A strong sign of life after it has been very quiet around Nina Proll in recent years. Controversial statements on the #metoo debate and Corona almost ended her career [as if Ms. Proll taking advantage of her right to free speech should do so…]
The precariousness of the professional situation is shown by the fact that the Tyrolean by choice—still unvaccinated, but ‘not an anti-vaxxer’ [links to a piece from autumn 2021 when she explained herself just before the federal gov’t instituted a ‘lockdown for the unvaccinated’]—acquired a truck driver's licence in pandemic times as ‘a form of backup’, adding: ‘I thought, when the state tells me again that I am not systemically relevant, I want to have something in my pocket’, Proll said in an interview with the magazine News [how many celebrities caved, never thought for a moment about doing ‘something else’ to stay true to their convictions?]
I never presumed to make a recommendation to anyone. I have only claimed my right to make my own decisions about my body, which is actually the basic feminist demand, along with 'No means no'. But where were the feminists when they were needed? They threw their own principles overboard. In that case, my body obviously belonged to the state’, she says, still annoyed today. A shitstorm descended on the actress at the time [speak for yourself]. Advertising contracts were cancelled, concerts were cancelled...
In addition, Proll has been working for three years on a script for a comedy that she would like to make into a film herself. A project of the heart, as she reveals to News. ‘Five of the greatest German-speaking actresses’ have already agreed to do it, but the project still comes up against an invisible wall with all the broadcasters and funding institutions:
It is out of the question to make a politically incorrect comedy on the topic of #metoo that satirically highlights the hypocrisy and double standards of the industry. It would do everyone good to laugh about these issues for once and thus de-stress them.
She was told by the funding agencies that she was spreading 'the wrong message'. Proll counters:
I think sexual advances between adult people are fine and something completely natural, whether they work together or not. Neither do I feel elevated or demeaned by it. I also believe that an adult woman is capable of saying yes or no.
‘My reputation is already ruined’
But it is precisely this clear attitude that many a broadcaster is likely to resent or hold against her:
People are afraid of making themselves vulnerable, and being vulnerable in this matter is not something I wish on anyone. Because the message to be spread is clearly prescribed: Women are victims, men are perpetrators. Only I can care less, the reputation is already ruined.
Bottom Lines
Let’s not sugar-coat this—personally, I could care less about TV personalities and the like, esp. since most of them are little more than stage-actors who babble whatever.
Nina Proll, almost by contrast, seems to be the exception that proves that rule.
Not only did she repeatedly speak out against the Covid mandates and remained true to her convictions—much like, say, former state broadcaster ORF’s journalist Sabine Spögler-Dinse who similarly, back in autumn 2021, elected to quit her (plush) job (she was a high-society reporter) rather than ‘get vaccinated’:
To the great credit of both Nina Proll and Sabine Spögler-Dinse, they have continued to speak out, even though, naturally, ‘polite society’ is trying their best to keep them out of view. Shame on you, legacy media.
On the other hand, the very fact that these two pieces appeared in legacy media outlets shows two things: first, that perhaps Nina Proll cannot be broken, which I think comes to the fore strongly due to fact that she’d considered trucking to feed her family rather than cave, and since no-one so far (sadly) wants to get to the bottom of the many shenanigans of the WHO-declared, so-called ‘Covid pandemic’, there is apparently no way around her.
Second, the cognitive dissonance has now reached new levels—I doubt that anyone who interviewed Ms. Proll actually listened to what she had to say, to say nothing about the shame, I for one, would have felt if I would have complied with these mandates and interview someone with that level of courage. I’d even suspect that these insane levels of cognitive dissonance (bipolarity) are feeding into the raving madness so aptly described my Matthias Desmet.
Still, Nina Proll is back, she remained unbowed and continues to be unapologetic in her views; perhaps, over time, more voices like hers will get through. If anything, legacy media, esp. the large audience of Heute, are now paying attention to what she has to say once more.
The times, they may be a-changin’ again.
Kudos to this lady. If only there had been more like her.
I never encountered the term "Wortspende" before. Austrian German is always good for surprises.