Rammstein Lead Singer New Accusations against Till Lindemann
Several women raise new allegations against Rammstein frontman Lindemann. They describe to NDR and SZ how young women are apparently recruited for sex with him. Two women also report alleged sexual acts that they would not have consented to.
By Daniel Drepper, Sebastian Pittelkow and Isabel Schneider, NDR
Several women have leveled serious accusations against Rammstein lead singer Till Lindemann. In interviews with public broadcaster NDR and the daily newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung” (SZ), they provide an account of numerous young women apparently being recruited to have sex with the Rammstein vocalist.
Two women also spoke of sexual activities to which they had not agreed. The women have spoken anonymously on camera and have made a statutory declaration to NDR and SZ. The reporters involved in the story have collected additional witness statements and chat logs that substantiate the accusations.
Reporting by NDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung extensively document for the first time an established system: In interviews with reporters, more than a dozen women claim they were approached by people in Lindemann’s orbit in a targeted manner, frequently via Instagram or directly at concerts, and asked to attend after-show parties specially organized for Lindemann.
Many women claim they were asked to send photos of themselves ahead of time or say that photos or videos of them were made on location. The women were asked to dress in attractive clothing and style themselves in a specific way. Several of these women have made their statements as statutory declarations. In addition, numerous screenshots from WhatsApp and Instagram chats along with photos substantiate the women’s claims.
One woman claims she was told that access to the concert and the after-show party would be granted only if she was willing to have sex with Lindemann, and that Lindemann, who is now 60 years old, only wanted very young women to attend. In some cases, the women were not asked how old they were, even though they claim to have been offered alcohol and drugs at the parties free of charge.
In one instance, a woman, who was 22 years old at the time, claims she had sex with Lindemann very unexpectedly in a dressing room before a concert in 2020. The woman says she didn’t explicitly say no, but felt extremely uncomfortable, had pain, tensed up and experienced bleeding. She describes the intercourse as having been violent. Despite all that, she claims, Lindemann didn’t stop. Today, the woman describes her alleged sexual encounter with Lindemann as an assault and as an abuse of power.
In another instance, a woman who was 21 at the time says she lay down unconscious on a bed at an after-show party in Lindemann’s hotel room. According to her recollection, Lindemann was lying on top of her when she regained consciousness and, she says, asked her if he should stop. The woman says she again lost consciousness at that point. Later, she claims, someone offered her drugs. The next morning, the woman says, she woke up in a different hotel room.
Just a few days ago, Shelby Linn of Ireland claimed that she was drugged while attending an event related to a Rammstein concert in Vilnius. On social media, the band responded to the claims by posting: "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.” A vast social media campaign defending the band from the accusations has been underway for the past several days. NDR and SZ are in possession of a screenshot which indicates that the campaign is being guided in part by people close to Lindemann.
The band and Lindemann did not answer questions submitted to them by NDR and SZ about the specific allegations.
