Rammstein’s Till Lindemann sues German outlet for alleged misconduct reporting
Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann has filed a lawsuit against a German news outlet, following its coverage of the sexual misconduct allegations brought against him last year.
The allegations against the German singer-songwriter first arose in May 2023, when a female fan took to social media claiming to have been spiked at a pre-show party.
The fan, Shelby Lynn from Northern Ireland, then claimed to the BBC that she was recruited and “groomed” for sex with the singer after the Vilnius gig. Lynn said her drink was spiked at the show, but clarified she was not sexually assaulted.
From the get-go, Lindemann and his bandmates denied all allegations, and the singer’s legal team branded the accusations “without exception untrue”.
The following month German outlet Tagesschau published a report that contained new charges from other women, all of which accused the frontman of sexual assault. The claims were once again denied by Lindemann and the band, however, this still led to severe consequences.
In light of the claims, the frontman was dropped by his book publisher, Kiepenheuer & Witsch following the allegations, and the Berlin public prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the alleged incidents. This was later wrapped up and dropped in August 2023.
“The statements made by witnesses in the press reports have not been confirmed by the investigations,” the prosecutor’s office stated at the time (via Billboard). Lindemann later shared a statement on social media, which read: “I thank all those who have waited impartially for the end of the investigation.”
Now, a year after the Berlin public prosecutor’s office investigation was dropped, the band have filed a lawsuit against executives at the German publication Der Spiegel.
According to Loudwire, the singer has raised a criminal complaint with the Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s Office against Der Spiegel’s executives, alleging that the publication’s reporting included falsified documents and an attempt to commit trial fraud.
PPRESS RELEASE
RE TILL LINDEMANN
Criminal charges of forgery and attempted trial fraud against SPIEGEL executives due to the affidavits submitted by SPIEGEL in the injunction proceedings against Till Lindemann pic.twitter.com/3tfk2VsIng— Schertz Bergmann (@schertzbergmann) August 2, 2024
It came just after the band shared a statement online, explaining how the allegations have impacted them over the past year.
“Since last summer, we have been actively dealing with the accusations made against the band. We take this dispute very seriously, even if much of it is unfounded and excessively exaggerated. It is an inner process that will accompany us for a long time to come. Each of us does this in our own way and deals with it differently,” it read.
“At this point, we would particularly like to thank our families and loved ones for their unrestricted support and love; they too were hit hard by the allegations made and the media’s handling of them.”
“We thank our crew, our management, all our employees and everyone who has supported us and remained loyal along this journey. This massive stadium tour with this great show and this extraordinary stage has now come to an end after 135 concerts in 5 years with 6 million fans. It’s not Rammstein. It’s not us. It’s not you. The path continues.”
This is a developing story.
The post Rammstein’s Till Lindemann sues German outlet for alleged misconduct reporting appeared first on NME.
Liberty Dunworth
NME
