Update: June 03rd, 2023 11:17 AM:
Rammstein have now issued the following statement today (June 03rd) in the wake of the latest allegations made against their vocalist Till Lindemann (originally posted in German):
“The publications of the last few days have caused irritation and questions among the public and especially among our fans. The allegations hit us all very hard and we take them extremely seriously.
We say to our fans: It is important to us that you feel comfortable and safe at our shows – in front of and behind the stage.
We condemn any kind of transgression and ask you:
do not engage in public prejudice of any kind against those who have made allegations. You have a right to your point of view.But we, the band, also have a right – namely not to be prejudiced either.”
Original Story:
More disturbing allegations have emerged against Till Lindemann, the 60-year-old singer of German industrial metal titans Rammstein. Last month saw a woman publicly come forward with allegations of having been recruited to attend a so-called ‘Row 0’ party scheduled around one of Rammstein‘s recent shows in Vilnius, LIT.
According to those allegations, the woman in question claimed that members of the band’s camp had recruited women in attendance at the band’s show to hang out with members of the band and crew at a private event. The allegations in particular singled out the band’s vocalist Lindemann as being involved in those parties, which the woman claims to have discovered were centered around sexual encounters.
The woman who made the allegations claimed that she was drugged during the private party and awoke with bruises of an unknown origin. She claims to have went to the police on the matter. Rammstein themselves commented on the matter via Twitter on May 28th, offering:
“With regard to the allegations circulating on the internet about Vilnius, we can rule out the possibility that what is being claimed took place in our environment.
We are not aware of any official investigations into this matter.”
However, a new report published today, June 02nd, by Tagesschau has word from several other women with disturbing allegations. The incidents in question date back as far as early 2020, with one woman stating that she woke up on a hotel bed with Lindemann laying on top of her. She claimed to have been unconscious prior and unaware of Lindemann‘s actions. The report stated of that:
‘According to her memories, Lindemann was lying on her when she regained consciousness and asked her if he should stop. “And I didn’t even know what he wanted to stop doing.” Lindemann then left at some point. Members of his team later offered her drugs. She rejected that.’
The aforementioned publication also claim that more than a dozen women have since spoken with reporters on the nature of these ‘Row 0’ parties staged around Rammstein‘s concerts. Tagesschau report that the various evidence and accounts presented to them outline women of certain age groups being screened in advance by members of the band’s camp in advance for admittance to these parties, which allegedly involved sex, drugs and alcohol.
One of those women claims she was notified that she would only be able to attend if she was interested in potentially having sexual intercourse with Lindemann. The report also states that various chatlogs and screenshots of the parties being organized were presented to back up the women’s claims.
In response to these allegations, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, who published Lindemann‘s 2013 poetry book ‘In Stillen Nächte‘/’On Quiet Nights‘, have terminated their arrangement with him. The publisher cited the recent allegations and their discovery that the book had appeared in a pornographic video in which Lindemann was involved with.
A statement issued by the publisher reads as follows:
“It is with shock that we have followed public allegations against Till Lindemann in the last few days. Our sympathy and respect goes to the women affected.
In the course of current reporting, we became aware of 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 rate this as gross breach of trust and as a ruthless act in relation to the values we represent as a publisher.
We defend the freedom of art with full conviction. Through Till Lindemann’s actions that humiliate women in the aforementioned porn and the targeted use of our book in a pornographic context, the separation between the ‘lyrical I’ and the author/artist, which we so staunchly defended, is mocked by the author himself.
From our point of view, Till Lindemann exceeds immovable limits in dealing 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.”
[via MetalSucks]
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