Singer Heino threatens to quit film project over gendered language

Schlager singer Heino has threatened to withdraw from the filming of the Austrian mockumentary series ‘Die Rettungsschwimmer vom Wörthersee’ due to the use of gender-inclusive language in the project's working title.

The 87-year-old singer expressed his opposition to ‘gendering’ in the German language, stating that it ‘disfigures’ the language. He reportedly informed producer and director Stefanie Mayer that he would not participate in a project that uses such terminology, specifically citing the working title ‘Die Rettungsschwimmer:innen vom Wörthersee’.

Heino has demanded that if the gendered title remains, his already filmed scenes should not be included in the final production, and he will refuse to perform the planned theme song. While Mayer noted that the title was only a working version and emphasized the importance of representing women and queer individuals in her film, the dispute continues as the gendered title appeared again in recent production schedules.