The singer and leader of the German rock band Rammstein, Till Lindemann, has faced allegations from several young women who have denounced a system of casting and soliciting fans to have sex with him during his concerts. The scandal of alleged sexual abuse and power-sharing erupted after an Irish woman reported to Lithuanian police that her drink had been adulterated at a party following the group’s concert in Vilnius last month.
The allegations took shape in recent days as more and more women began to share how the so-called zero line worked at concerts, the one closest to the stage and the after-parties with Lindemann. These days Rammstein, the most famous German band outside their borders, is celebrating a series of four concerts at the Olympiastadion in Munich. The scandal has prompted promoters to scrap row zero and ban post-show parties, and even the German government has spoken out calling for more protections for women in this type of show. Family Minister Lisa Paus called for “a serious debate about the responsibility of artists and organizers towards their fans” and called on the music industry to join the “Alliance against Sexism”.
In two statements, Rammstein assured that the complaints were taken “extremely seriously”, but denied that the events described by the Irishwoman happened “in the environment” of the band. Known for their spectacular pyrotechnics and provocative lyrics, the group has sold more than 50 million records and played to sold-out venues around the world. His fame is more controversial in Germany than abroad, especially after Lindemann published a book of poetry and a pornographic video a few years ago. In one of the lyrics he apparently fantasizes about abusing an unconscious woman. At his concerts, Lindemann shows sexually explicit sculptures that he designed himself, and often mimics sexual acts as ejaculations on stage.
The Kiepenheuer & Witsch publishing house, which published the poetry anthology in 2020, has announced that it will stop working with the singer. Hundreds of fans of the group tried to resell tickets for their concerts in Munich, the German press reports. The German press reports that Rammstein has also commissioned a law firm and a company specializing in reputation crises. The case revives the Me Too movement in Germany, which began six years ago to expose the systemic nature of violence against women around the world. So far, allegations of sexism in the German cultural industry have been limited to the world of hip-hop, although Der Spiegel recently brought to light alleged abuses of popular actor Til Schweiger, ranging from sexism to widespread abuse of workers. in its latest production.
The first fan to comment on the alleged abuse of the 60-year-old Rammstein singer is a 24-year-old woman from Northern Ireland, Shelby L., who attended the Vilnius concert on May 23. In a series of posts on Twitter and Instagram, he recounts his experience, in which a Russian woman named Alena Makeeva plays a special role, who is said to be responsible for selecting young fans to introduce to the singer.
According to her account, she learned through internet forums that Makeeva – who describes herself as “tour casting director with Till Lindemann” on her Instagram page – was the person who gave fans access to exclusive parties with the group before and after the concerts procured. He contacted her on Instagram and received one of these invitations to enter the zero row of the Vilnius show.
During a break, she says, a team member took her to a dressing room below the stage, where she met Lindemann. Always according to his story, he told him that he didn’t want to have sex with him, to which the singer reacted with great anger. The woman assures that at the previous party she only had two drinks and after a while she started behaving unusually. He suspects someone put something in his drink, which would explain his lapses in memory from that night.
After she went public with her story, which includes photos of large bruises she doesn’t know how came about, the German press began publishing testimonials from women who reported similar experiences. The Irish fan reiterated in a later message on May 30 that she had not reported any rape: “Till did NOT touch me. He accepted that I didn’t want to sleep with him. I never said he raped me. This is the only case currently in the hands of the police. Lithuanian officials spent five hours giving testimony about a possible victim of an abuse crime. The public prosecutor’s office has not yet decided whether a criminal investigation should be initiated.
Reports published in the German media describe a system that apparently aims to select the right people for sex with the singer among Rammstein fans. The stories published, for example, in the newspaper “Die Welt”, which allegedly signed statements by several women, correspond to the scenes described by the Irish fan. Makeeva selected the young women who could fill row zero. Once there, they were photographed and filmed like at a casting. Before, during or after the concert, they were offered to meet the band backstage, their cell phones were taken from them and they were invited to drink alcohol.
The Süddeutsche Zeitung published the testimony of a woman who attended one of these parties after the Rammstein concert in Vienna in 2019. She assures that she drank alcohol and passed out. When he regained consciousness, he met Lindemann in a hotel room: “He was lying on top of me.” According to this story, the singer asked him if he wanted him to stop and left the room. Newspapers will probably have to use the statements signed by the women, because Rammstein announced on Thursday that it would take legal action against the publications. In various media and social networks “there have been numerous reports that at Rammstein concerts women were drugged with GHB or alcohol so that our client would engage in sexual activity with them,” the group’s lawyers say. “These allegations are invariably false,” they add.
dozens of women
The newspaper and NDR television have published joint research in which they spoke to dozens of women. They showed them screenshots of chats in which Makeeva asks them if they know other girls who want to meet Lindemann or sleep with him. They report that there were two types of parties, some with the group and others just to meet the singer. The Russian, again a Rammstein fan, was neither hired nor paid for this selection work, German media reported. The “casting director” gave them instructions on how to dress: “Sexy-elegant, not all black,” says some chats. The group announced that he was banned from attending their concerts.
“The question is whether all women who end up at Lindemann will eventually be able to get the situation under control again or later remember what happened.” Or if the whole process was so asymmetrical from the start, is so manipulative that one cannot speak of it being voluntary,” according to the text of the Süddeutsche Zeitung. The band is planning a gig in Spain on June 23rd, in Madrid.
Shelby L. told the world that after its initial posting, it received more than 1,500 messages and that about half were supportive, 20% were hostile, and the rest had similar cases. Some have sent her photos of bruises and say they, like her, were invited to stand in line and then drink drinks that induce effects unlike alcohol.
A well-known 21-year-old German influencer said on Tuesday that Makeeva also invited her to a post-concert party for the band with other young women. She claims to have been very affectionate with them and asked them to leave their phones “for privacy reasons”. They were ushered into a locker room – it was a sports stadium – where there were two black leather sofas, a table and two refrigerators with alcoholic beverages, and several girls who appeared to be drugged “like zombies” were sitting. He assures that it made such a bad impression on him that he left immediately.