• Global Courtyard Rammstein's Russian Young Fan Tracker

Rammstein contracts. The leader of the best-known industrial metal band in Germany, Till Lindemann, has put in the hands of lawyers his defense against accusations that occur on social networks of women who allege having been subjected to drugs or alcohol at the group's parties for sexual encounters.

"On social media, especially Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, several women have made serious allegations against our client. It was repeatedly alleged that women at Rammstein concerts were drugged with the help of knockout drops or alcohol to allow our client to perform sexual acts on them. These allegations are without exception false," said Berlin lawyers Simon Bergmann and Christian Schertz.

They announced for them that they will take immediate legal action against the individuals for all accusations of this nature on social networks in the face of the sustained detriment they pose to the band and its leader.

The lawyers stressed that the accusations made against Lindemann "were picked up by numerous media and disseminated", which, in many cases, has led to inadmissible coverage based on suspicions. Not only was sufficient evidence not investigated and collected, but the requirement to report in a balanced and objective manner and ignoring the presumption of innocence, which is unacceptable when reporting, was also breached, they add.

In a statement from Rammstein a few days ago, they already said that the accusations had affected them a lot and that they took them very seriously. "To our fans we say: It's important to us that you feel comfortable and safe in our concerts, in front of and behind the stage." The letter went on to say: "We condemn any kind of aggression and ask you not to make public prejudices of any kind towards those who have made accusations. They have the right to have their view of things. But the band also has the right not to be prejudged."

Several women have in recent days accused Rammstein leader Lindemann of abuse of power and sexualized violence, some of them anonymously. Among other things, the women describe situations that they found frightening. During the concerts, young women were selected and asked if they wanted to go to the after-party. According to some of them, sexual acts occurred, or when they refused the singer became enraged. Among the testimonies are several cases of girls who do not remember what happened at parties or woke up with bruises and memory gaps.

The first allegations against Lindemann emerged two weeks ago, after an Irish fan who had traveled to Vilnius to attend one of Rammstein's concerts in Lithuania told her experience on social media. It was followed by other testimonies with the same modus operandi and experiences behind the stage, where alcohol and drugs ran and, allegedly, the singer vents from excess adrenaline.

A subsequent journalistic investigation gave credibility to these testimonies to the point of denouncing the existence of a kind of system of "recruitment" of girls by an individual who worked for the gang and, above all, of a Russian, Alena Makeeva. In the allegations of the girls, this woman always appears who, for the fans, should be received as a stroke of luck. He captured them on the networks, asked them for a photo, if they were attractive he invited them to the so-called Zero Row, a restricted access area just in front of the stage, and then to the parties. The alleged achiever even told them how they had to be dressed, according to the messages disseminated by the complainants. Makeeva was the person in charge of organizing Row Zero. On Tuesday she was fired.

Rammstein is one of the best known German bands in the world and their concerts happen to be an electronic exhibition. On Wednesday they began a European tour in Munich, but the Bavarian authorities changed the rules. As in all his performances there was full, but the Zero Row was prohibited and at the entrance to the stadium tents were set up to serve women who may have felt intimidated. The band, on the other hand, did not include in the concert their most aggressive songs and some of them sexist and, there were no ornaments of penises on stage.

The concert started for the band and their fans under the cloud of this new "me too". The tension in the group was evident. Lindemann (60), Richard Kruspe (55), Christoph Schneider (57), Paul Landers (58), Christian "Flake" Lorenz (56) and Oliver Riedel (52) bow to their fans. Lindemann says, "Munich, thank you for being here and with us." Drummer Christoph Schneider is in tears. Visibly excited, he closes his eyes, then kneels down and lowers his head. Despite a celebrated concert in front of more than 60,000 fans, there was no mood on stage.

  • music
  • Germany
  • Gender-based violence
  • Sexual assault

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