It was previously reported by various sites that Taake’s March 24 show at Le Poisson Rouge in New York, NY was cancelled following allegations of Nazism. Now, opener King Dude has decided to drop off the full tour due to the same accusations, which stem from a 2007 incident when Taake mastermind Hoest performed with a swastika painted on his chest. King Dude had the following to say:

“For reasons out of my control, and frankly out of my realm of understanding, I will be removing myself from the tour with Taake. It must be made clear that I am a Luciferian and do not preach hate, nor would I endorse a setting that allows hate to happen. I believe in both personal and spiritual growth as well as the spread of knowledge beyond all sacrifice and at all costs.

The banner under which people enter a King Dude concert must be welcoming to all people of all walks of life, race, religion, gender etc. This should go without saying as this has always been the way I have conducted my concerts and I’m not sure why it should change for this tour. I absolutely do not welcome political discourse at my concerts as it has no place there.

My concerts are a place that should be a sanctuary for everyone, a place for people to find church without having to go to one.

Stay tuned here for updates regarding make up shows to all of you. Thanks again for your continued support.

With the Light and Love of Lucifer,

– King Dude“

As for Hoest, he has denied the allegations multiple times, and has done so again in a new statement:

“I have clearly explained many times throughout the years that me wearing a swastika once at a German concert was not at all meant to show support for the nazi ideology.

It was all about doing something extreme for the sake of it, which certainly backfired.
But it has now been 11 years and the band has even performed in Israel (!)

Anyway, similar incidents have not happened in Taake’s 25 year long career and will obviously not happen again. But certain parties seem to find this cold case unforgivable nevertheless, insisting on wilful misunderstanding

So, once and for all, Taake is not a racist band. Never has been, never will be. Still claiming so is as ridiculous and unfounded as are the attempts at sabotaging our highly anticipated shows

–Hoest-“