Nina Chuba faces backlash after calling Stuttgart the "lamest crowd in Germany"

Background: The Kessel Festival

Chuba contrasted Stuttgart with Munich. "Aber in München gehen die Leute ja immer crazy ab", she said. She then invited her listeners to weigh in: "Falls ihr aus Stuttgart kommt, sagt doch mal, woran das liegen könnte".

The remarks prompted a strong reaction on Instagram and elsewhere. One follower wrote: "Wow, du hältst ja voll viel von deinen Fans, die sich bei 40 Grad für dich auf'n Wasen gestellt haben". Another agreed with Chuba, saying: "Checke selbst als Stuttgarter nicht, warum die Stimmung oft so tot ist". A third commenter joked: "Schwaben, wir müssen sparen, auch an Emotionen."

Other fans pushed back more sharply. A father who attended the concert told SWR: "Ich find's schon ziemlich unprofessionell, sich so über sein zahlendes Publikum zu äußern". A festival visitor said: "Warum sie jetzt das Publikum disse, das trotz Hitze mitgetanzt und mitgegrölt habe, verstehe sie nicht".

Fans push back

One mother described the dedication of young fans at the merch stand. "Viele junge Mädchen und Kinder haben sich im Nina-Chuba-Style durch die Hitze geschleppt und wirklich alles gegeben für ihr Idol", she said. An 11-year-old fan was also critical: "Ich finde es voll unpassend, da wir ja eigentlich richtig viel mitgemacht haben".

The weather conditions during the festival were extreme. Saturday tickets for the Kessel Festival are being refunded after the second day was cancelled because of the heat. According to the festival website: "Die Wetterlage am Freitag habe Besucher, Infrastruktur und Technik an ihre Grenzen gebracht", and the organizer added: "Der Gesundheitsschutz von Gästen, Mitarbeitenden und Künstlerinnen und Künstlern stehe an erster Stelle". Forecasters noted that Saturday was expected to be even hotter than Friday.

A different atmosphere at the Wasen

Just two weeks earlier, Stuttgart had hosted a notably different atmosphere. Die Toten Hosen played the first German date of their farewell tour at the Wasen, drawing 65,000 fans. Singer Campino told SWR afterwards: "Wir werden noch sehr lange an diesen Abend denken und das ist keine Plattitüde, das ist Stuttgart." The contrast with the Kessel Festival has not gone unnoticed in local commentary.

The headline question circulating in regional media has been phrased bluntly: "Sind Maultaschen oder der Kessel schuld?" Chuba has not publicly responded to the criticism at the time of writing. The episode has sparked debate about how artists speak about audiences that pay to see them perform, particularly when those fans have endured difficult conditions to attend.

Critics argue that commenting on crowd energy is part of an artist's honest feedback, while defenders say that mocking paying fans crosses a line. The discussion has also reignited an older cultural conversation about the perceived reserve of audiences in southern Germany compared with other regions. For now, Chuba's podcast remarks continue to circulate widely on social media.

The Toten Hosen's successful Stuttgart show, which drew tens of thousands and received praise from the band, has been held up by some commentators as evidence that Stuttgart audiences can deliver passionate responses when the performance connects. Whether that observation will soften the reaction to Chuba's remarks remains to be seen.