The Berlin prosecutor’s office confirmed today that it opened a case against till lindemannvocalist of the German industrial metal band Rammstein accused of alleged sexual and power abuse against young followers of the group.
The singer is suspected of committing acts “from the field of sexual crimes and the supply of narcotic substances”said Karen Sommer, spokesperson for the prosecution, after clarifying that she cannot give more details at this time so as not to endanger the investigation and the rights of Lindemann and his alleged victims.
The investigation has been opened “following various complaints from third parties,” as well as ex officio, Sommer said in statements to the international press.
The scandal broke out several weeks ago, after a young Irish woman denounced that at a Rammstein concert in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, he had been supplied with drugs, supposedly with the aim of having sexual relations with the vocalist.
Later, there were testimonies from other women collected in German and international media who denounced the existence of a supposed system around the singer to attract young people with whom he could have sexual relations after the concerts, some of whom affirm that they felt intimidated or violated by Lindemann’s attitude, while others have declared that the singer abused them, or having witnessed how other girls behaved as if they were drugged.
Lithuanian police said last weekend that they would not investigate the original complaint against the singer for lack of evidence.
According to the French news agency AFP, the German government decided to create protection zones for women in the shows that the band gave in Munich and the formation of special intervention teams, as well as eliminate the space that is right in front of the stage, where the alleged victims were.
“They should be better protected against attacks. A serious debate on the responsibility of artists and organizers towards their fans would be useful,” said Lisa Paus, Minister for the Family in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s administration.
Other women also indicated that they were filmed or photographed in the front row before being invited by a band assistant, the Russian Alena Makeeva -who was separated from the band’s environment last Tuesday-, to meet the members of the group behind the scenes and then attend one of the post-show celebrations.
One of the 21-year-old complainants also recounted in a public video that during a presentation of the band in 2022 Makeeva approached her and a friend to summon them to a party, and that she led them to a room where she was incited together with another dozen young people to drink alcohol after the gang’s security agents confiscated their cell phones.
although since Rammstein denied these accusations, the members of the band affirmed through a post on the social network Instagram that they take them “seriously”: “It is important to us that fans feel comfortable and safe at our concerts, in front of and behind the scenes,” the group, also made up of Richard Zven Kruspe, Oliver Riedel, Christopher Schneider, Paul Landers, and Flake Lorenz.
Founded in 1994 and famous for its pyrotechnics and provocative staging, Rammstein has a series of shows scheduled for the coming weeks in countries like France, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Austria, among others.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
