After a Rammstein concert, a young woman makes accusations against frontman Till Lindemann. The band denies it. But more women are going public.
Vilnius/Frankfurt - February 2019: Cynthia A. (not her real name) is 22 years old when she is supposed to dance in a disco ball with two other women during a solo concert by Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann. The alleged requirement of a concert employee: "It should only look awesome". Cynthia describes herself as a big Rammstein fan at the time, and now she tells her version of the story. The offer of dancing suddenly gave me the opportunity to get to know Lindemann personally. That's when she seized the opportunity and agreed. In the backstage area, Lindemann showed the three women a music video of the band with hard sex scenes shortly before the concert, later he waved the 22-year-old to him.
"I thought he really wanted to show me something cool just before the show," Cynthia told SZ. But in the dressing room, where he leads her according to Cynthia, he shows her nothing. Instead, the two have sexual intercourse. "I don't want to say that it was rape, because I agreed, but I wasn't obviously happy about what was happening." She was in pain, cramped, and then bled, she told the SZ. "But I didn't want to say that it hurts, because it was Till Lindemann."
Wave unleashed: Young women make serious allegations against Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann
The story of Cynthia A. is by no means the only one that the world-famous band Rammstein is currently confronted with. Another fan, Shelby L., had unleashed a media wave on May 25 when she reported on Twitter about her experience at a Rammstein concert in Vilnius last week. At an exclusive party for the show, she didn't drink much alcohol, but from a later date she couldn't remember most of the evening and woke up the next morning with bruises on her hip.
From the design of the stage to the outfit of the band members. Rammstein fans are offered special concerts all over the world. © Christoph Soeder/dpa
Shelby L. suspects that she was given drugs without being asked. The young woman emphasizes that Till Lindemann never touched or raped her. However, he reacted aggressively when she met the singer during a concert break and did not want to have sexual intercourse. Rammstein also made a public statement four days later and denied the allegations. "With regard to the allegations about Vilnius circulating on the Internet, we can rule out the possibility that what is being claimed has taken place in our environment."
What really happens backstage at Rammstein concerts remains open. No one can prove what happened. Cynthia A. did not go to the police at the time because she did not call the situation an assault until some time later through conversations with friends. But the stories are piling up. Uneasy gut feeling at after-show parties, inquiries to young women before the concerts whether they want to sleep with Till Lindemann, as well as dress codes for female fans who want to get into the front row, run like a red thread through the reports that the NDR and the SZ have collected from women. All of them would have testified under oath. The cases trigger a discussion that could have a similar potential as the Metoo debate a few years ago: How sexist is Rammstein? What kind of crimes might result from such a worldview?
Kiwi-Verlag ends cooperation with Till Lindemann
On Friday, the publishing house "Kiepenheuer & Witsch" drew conclusions and ended its cooperation with Lindemann. In a statement on Twitter, it was said that they were shocked: "Our sympathy and respect goes out to the affected women." Lindemann had "celebrated sexual violence against women", also in a porn video, in which his book "In silent nights" also plays a role. Lindemann had published the book with the publisher.
Artistic freedom as a pretext? Rammstein polarizes with sexist lyrics
Against the background of the emerging allegations against the band's lead singer, the often sexual and violent content of the songs comes into focus. A well-known example is the poem "When you sleep" by Lindemann. Among other things, it says: "Feel free to sleep with you when you dream. And that's exactly how it should be" and it ends with the line "Some Rohypnol in the wine. Can't move at all. And you're sleeping, it's a blessing." The lyrics are just one of many. In addition, there are music videos that show hard sex scenes or violent acts.
What actually happens backstage at Rammstein concerts remains open. © Gonzales Photo / IMAGO
The contents are covered by artistic freedom. The text of the law on artistic freedom reads: "Everyone has the right to freely express and disseminate his or her opinion in speech, writing and images." Contents such as those of Rammstein must therefore always be viewed in a differentiated manner by the artist. In his poem, for example, Lindemann does not officially express himself as a private person, but as an artist who has created a lyrical self for the poem and tells the story from its perspective. Rammstein's lyrics must therefore generally be viewed separately from the current allegations against Lindemann. In this context, however, music journalist Raphael Smarzoch addresses an elementary idea.
"On the one hand, of course, this is art and covered by artistic freedom and does not make anyone a perpetrator," Smarzoch said of Rammstein's lyrics on Deutschlandfunk Kultur. "On the other hand, this argument can also be reversed: artistic freedom can also be a pretext for spreading sexist narratives and glorifying or trivializing rape."
The topic is likely to occupy the media and society in Germany for some time to come. Rammstein is one of the most successful bands in German history and is known worldwide. Currently, it's statement against statement. However, it can be assumed that even more women will come forward and tell their story. (nz)