Rammstein: what are the allegations against singer Till Lindemann

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The lead singer of German rock band Rammstein has been charged with sexual assault and alcohol abuse.

Till Lindemann, the lead singer of German rock band Rammstein, has been dropped by his book publisher as new allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced.

The charges began following an incident at the band’s recent concert in Vilnius, Lithuania, where an Irish woman claimed her drink had been spiked by Lindemann. Shelby Lynn said she denied the 60-year-old woman’s sexual advances earlier that night and then ended up at her hotel with bruises she couldn’t remember.

Rammstein has denied the allegations, with a spokesperson writing on the band’s official Twitter account that they could rule out the possibility that what is claimed took place in our environment. Warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault.

But other allegations about the leader have since surfaced, with German outlet Tagesschau reporting several stories of sexual assault. A woman told the broadcaster she was backstage at a show in February 2020, when she was 22, when Lindemann asked her to join him in an isolated room before forcing her to have sex with him.

Reporters also spoke to another woman, 21 at the time of the alleged incident, who said she woke up in a hotel room to find Lindemann lying on top of her. She then alleged that Lindemann’s team of handlers later offered her drugs – which she said she refused.

Now Lindemanns publisher Kiepenheuer & Witsch has dropped him as a client, citing both the recent accusations and alleging he featured the book he published through them in a pornographic video – which they say celebrates sexual violence against women. They said their trust had been irreparably shattered.

Neither Lindemann nor Rammstein has yet commented on the latest allegations.

Till Lindemann during the presentation of his book at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2017. Credit: Getty Images

What happened in Vilinus, Lithuania?

Irish woman Shelby Lynn has claimed that either Lindemann or members of the Rammsteins team/entourage spiked her drink after she was invited to a backstage party after the concert at Vilinus.

She said she first suspected something was wrong when she started to forget things after drinking a drink provided by Lindemann, then later woke up in her hotel room with bruises she didn’t remember getting. Lynn also claimed she rejected Lindemann when he tried to kiss her earlier that night, to which she alleged he reacted angrily.

What did Rammstein say?

Rammstein released a statement on Twitter in response to the accusations. The group wrote: Regarding the allegations circulating on the internet about Vilnius, we can exclude the possibility that what is claimed took place in our environment.

We are not aware of any official investigation into this matter. There were no arrests or charges.

What are the other allegations regarding Lindemann?

German outlet Tagesschau reported that after Lynn’s claims, several women approached them with their own experiences with the rock singer, with two of those women alleging they had been sexually assaulted.

A woman, referred to by Taggeschau as Cynthia A, has claimed she was 22 when Lindemann forced her to have sex with him. She told the outlet: At that point, I just thought, Oh my God, this hurts, I hope this is over soon.

Cynthia A said she didn’t explicitly say no, but it was clear she was extremely uncomfortable. Lindemann must have noticed that sleeping with me wasn’t easy, she added.

Taggeschau said he was able to corroborate the claims after speaking with several friends of the woman, whom she told about what happened. Cynthia A now describes the incident, which allegedly took place in February 2020, as an assault and abuse of power.

Another woman claimed that when she was 21, she woke up in a hotel room after an after-show party to find Lindemann lying on top of her. Kaya R alleged that Lindemann then asked her if she wanted him to quit, but she said she didn’t even know what he wanted to stop doing.

Members of German band Rammstein (L to R) Christoph Schneider, Paul Landers and Till Lindemann pose for photographers upon their arrival for the 2007 MTV Europe Music Awards in Munich November 1, 2007. Credit: JOERG KOCH/DDP/AFP via Getty Images

Taggeschau also alleged that the interviews they conducted revealed a process undertaken by Lindemanns’ team in which women were chosen for after-show parties and backstage encounters – with women reporting how they had been specifically approached by people from around Lindemanns, either via social media or at the gigs themselves.

This happened in different cities in Europe, always with a very similar process, the outlet wrote, adding that the women contacted before the shows were then asked to dress attractively.

He continued: A woman reports that she was made clear that access to the concert and after-show party is only available if there is interest in having sex with Lindemann and that Lindemann , who is now 60, only wants very young women. .

What did Lindemann say?

Lindemann has yet to publicly respond to the accusations. Taggeschau also said neither Lindemann nor Rammstein management responded to requests for comment on the allegations.

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What happened with the publisher of the book?

Publisher Kiepenheuer & Witsch announced on Friday (June 2) that it would drop Lindemann as a client. In a statement which has since been translated from German, he said: It is with shock that we have followed the public allegations against Till Lindemann in recent days. Our sympathy and respect goes out to the women affected.

During current reporting, we came across a porn video in which Till Lindemann celebrates sexual violence against women and in which the 2013 book In Still Night, published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch, plays a role. We view this as a blatant breach of trust and a callous act against the values ​​we stand for as a publisher.

We defend the freedom of art with conviction. [But] through Till Lindemann’s actions of humiliating women in the aforementioned porn and the targeted use of our book in a pornographic context, the separation between lyrical I and author/artist that we have so fiercely defended is flouted. by the author himself.

From our point of view, Till Lindemann goes beyond the immovable limits in his relationships with women. We have therefore decided to end our collaboration with Till Lindemann with immediate effect, as our relationship of trust with the author has been irretrievably broken.

Did something else happen?

It is worthless that no formal charges were filed against Lindemann and no arrests were made. There are also currently no investigations into allegations of predatory behavior.

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