Sophia Thomalla resigns from the CDU after twelve years – because of dealing with Rammstein

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Sophia Thomalla at a tennis tournament: Until 2015 she was in a relationship with Rammstein singer Lindemann, since 2021 she has been dating tennis star Alexander Zverev

Photo: IMAGO/Cathrin Müller /M.I.S. / IMAGO/MIS

While Markus Söder once adored Franz Josef Strauss, many a young conservative is now rooting for Sophia Thomalla. Instead of Strauss posters above the bed, there are Instagram likes today, after all, the influencer and presenter joined the CDU about twelve years ago. But soon the likes of some Young Union members could dwindle: The 34-year-old has publicly announced her resignation from the party.

The decisive factor for the 34-year-old It-Girl was apparently not the latest rhetorical right-wing spin of party leader Friedrich Merz. Probably not the recent election results in Bavaria and Hesse or the tax or economic policy of the CDU/CSU. Instead, Thomalla was particularly annoyed by the CDU's handling of the Rammstein case. The very band whose frontman Till Lindemann is currently facing serious accusations of abuse of power, but denies them.

Thomalla: Preoccupation with Lynn strengthens the AfD

The straw that broke the camel's back was probably a women's political evening of the CDU and CSU parliamentary group. This week, Christian Social Dorothee Bär and Christian Democrat Julia Klöckner discussed "Violence against Women – Breaking the Silence". They also invited Shelby Lynn, who has made particularly serious accusations against Rammstein and their singer Till Lindemann in recent months. That evening, Lynn comprehensively settled accounts with power structures that favored "white cis men," as the Berliner Zeitung, among others, wrote.

Thomalla didn't seem to like that at all. She, who was in a relationship with Lindemann from 2011 to 2015, now wrote on Instagram: "I don't want to continue to support the ever-increasing loss of reality of some politicians." And she added: "Giving the lady, who even says of herself that Till Lindemann would never have touched her, a stage in the German Bundestag as part of an event called 'Violence against Women' reflects exactly the unrealistic politics that so many citizens have rightly criticized for months."

According to Thomalla, CSU member Bär said at the beginning of the event that "it should not be about what happened or didn't happen." But that's exactly what drives the actress crazy. "Sounds to me more like an attempt to somehow relativize the back and forth of Shelby Lynn's statements and make them suitable for the event." It would have been better to invite a woman "who had to experience real violence".

In the end, Thomalla, who once joined the CDU because of Angela Merkel, made a connection to big politics – and saw Lynn's invitation as an action "for a quick and cheap applause from the woke Berlin bubble" that was far removed from the real concerns of the people. This is "unfortunately exactly one of the reasons why the AfD is getting such a relevant upswing."

Rammstein singer Lindemann had been accused of abusing his power over younger, female fans, as SPIEGEL also reported. Lindemann has always denied the accusations, and the Berlin public prosecutor's office has closed its investigations against Lindemann.

Apr