Is the War in Ukraine Sobering Up Long-Time Conspiracists? The Case of Xavier Naidoo
Xavier Naidoo, a popular German singer and conspiracy theorist, posted an apology video that, for many, came as a surprise. What does it mean, and can it turn into a mass phenomenon?
Xavier Naidoo, one of the most recognizable and controversial figures in German show business, started his career in the United Sates in 1994 with the rather mediocre album Seeing Is Believing. It was his first German album Nicht von dieser Welt (Not of This World), where he started to shape his unique brand of soul music, that brought him real success in the late 1990s.
That was when I first heard him: back then our local cable TV provider here in Ukraine chose to broadcast German music channels — Viva and MTV Germany. Those were strange days — at some point we also had Polish and Italian channels.
After that I wasn’t following his career — I was into different kinds of music. And only recently I’ve rediscovered Xavier Naidoo’s music — partly due to nostalgia, but also due to delving into German culture. And since some lyrics sounded weird, I decided to dig deeper. That’s how I learned about controversies surrounding him and came across the apology video.
During the last 15 years or so Naidoo was active in the German Querdenker community — a movement for “alternative” or “contrarian” thinkers who for some reason all seem to follow the same standard set of conspiracy theories.
In 2016, Naidoo was supposed to represent Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest, but his nomination was withdrawn due to his right-wing sympathies and homophobic statements. Despite being born to a migrant family, he was on record as speaking up against migrants. He denied climate change and official version of the September 11 attacks, and accused Jews of all the world’s problems. Most recently, he was a COVID-19 denier and propagated QAnon theories.
But then, in April 2022, he suddenly published a video where he apologized for his past statements and distanced himself from conspiracy circles. He cited the war in Ukraine as the primary factor that forced him to reconsider his beliefs. His wife, he says in the video, is from Ukraine, so the war has affected his family.
Here’s my full translation of the video:
Hello, my dear ones,
I’m getting in touch with you today because I would like to take a stand on something. Because, as well as you all, I have been stupefied and disturbed by the events of the past few weeks. The brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine, the violence, the contempt for human beings, the fact of a war that is not that far away from us shocked me and shook me deeply.
You must know that my wife is from Ukraine, and her… our family lives there. And I have also been to Ukraine often, and now I had to get my family and friends out of this wonderful country because fear and terror reign there.
The inconceivable suffering of these people who have to experience terrible things and have really lost everything moved me deeply. The world seems to have been turned upside down, and I asked myself how it could come to this. Besides, I spoke a lot with those affected and friends and also had to ask myself some critical questions about statements I made in the past.
I am grateful for this in retrospect because it was a reason for me to question myself critically. I realized how important it is to reflect on myself. I recognized that I had been on some wrong paths and that I had made many mistakes in recent years. I became aware that I had irritated and provoked my family, my friends, my fans, people who defended me, but also many others, with disturbing statements, for which I want to apologize.
A central point of my character is the search for truth. Whoever sets out on this search also sets out on a path, and on this path one, of course, also meets many people with the most diverse views and interests. This path also doesn’t just go straight, but there are many junctions, and it’s sometimes difficult. In the end, I got lost there. I opened up to theories, perspectives and sometimes also groups, from which I now distance myself without any “ifs” and “buts” and to which I say goodbye.
I was blinded by conspiracy stories and didn’t question them enough. I let myself be exploited to some extent. In the search for truth, I was like in a bubble and sometimes distanced myself from the touch with reality.
Unfortunately, I have only now realized that. I have said and done things that I regret today. It is therefore important for me to tell you that I distance myself from all extremes, in particular and above all from the right and conspiracy groups.
Everyone who knows me knows what I stand for. I stand for tolerance, diversity and peaceful coexistence. Nationalism, racism, homophobia and anti-Semitism are not compatible with my values, and I condemn them in the strongest terms possible.
With some of my statements and deeds I offended and hurt people, which I very much regret. I apologize for this and ask your forgiveness.
Peace, one love,
Your Xavier.
As should have been expected, the public response to the video has been mixed. On the one hand, conspiracists either view him as a traitor or, unsurprisingly, invent conspiracy theories to explain such a conduct. What if Naidoo has been taken prisoner by the reptilians? Or maybe he is now dead, and it’s just his hologram?
On the other hand, people who were critical of him in the past remain wary. They either say his statement is not clear and specific enough, or just can’t believe anyone can change so drastically. After all, we cling to our image of others, and it’s hard for us to change this image even if it doesn’t conform to reality anymore.
There have been no further statements by Naidoo since April, so it’s indeed too early to draw any final conclusions. However, evolving, growing up and changing your views and opinions, or even experiencing complete worldview turnarounds, is much healthier than stubbornly wallow in dogmatic convictions that were often shaped when you were young and immature.
Such transformations are valuable experiences for your personal development, and shocking and traumatic events like war may indeed provoke them, but it still requires a good deal of courage, for you know you may not live up to expectations of others who may turn away from you.
Yet, unfortunately, most of those who believe in conspiracy theories and parrot Russian propaganda clichés, or even deny there being a war, live far away, in their own bubble, out of touch with reality, and lack both intelligence and courage needed to face the consequences and leave their comfortable community of likeminded idiots. We therefore should not expect a mass exodus from conspiracy groups, but we should also take note of such cases.