Rammstein singer sues German newspaper over sexual misconduct allegations coverage

Rammstein singer Till Lindemann has brought forward a lawsuit against the German newspaper, Der Spiegel, regarding the publication’s reporting of sexual misconduct allegations made against him.

In June last year, multiple women accused the frontman of sexual assault, which led authorities to investigate the claims. Fan Shelby Lynn claimed she was “groomed for sex” backstage at Lindemann’s show in Lithuania and alleged her drink was spiked by the band, which was denied by the singer’s camp. Two other women anonymously came forward with historic allegations against Lindemann and bandmate Christian Lorenz. Lawyers for Lorenz and Lindemann rejected the accusations, claiming they contained “insufficiently substantiated facts”.

Following the conclusion of the investigation, no charges were brought against Lindemann and the exploration into the claims made against the musician “did not provide any evidence” of alleged misconduct.

Additionally, prosecutors didn’t find any evidence of incidents of drug-facilitated sexual assault or anything to substantiate claims that a minor was sexually exploited. Due to a lack of evidence of criminal activity, they also dropped another investigation into Alena Makeeva, who was accused of procuring girls to attend afterparties with Lindemann while on tour.

Following the conclusion of the investigation, lawyers for Lindemann said: “The rapid termination of investigative proceedings by the Berlin state prosecutor’s office shows that there is insufficient evidence that our client allegedly committed sexual offences.”

In a new development, per LoudWire, on August 2nd, Lindemann’s lawyer, Schertz Bergman, filed a criminal complaint against Der Spiegel to the Hamburg Public Prosecutor’s Office. The lawsuit derives from the publication’s reporting of the sexual misconduct claims, which they believe contained falsified documents and attempted to commit trial fraud.

The news of the lawsuit coincides with an open letter from Rammstein to their fanbase, reflecting on their recent tour and the allegations made against them. The German rock group wrote: “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.”

Rammstein also thanked their “families and loved ones” for offering “unrestricted support and love”, claiming they had been “hit hard by the allegations made and the media’s handling of them”.

Their statement concluded by thanking their fans who had turned out to see them on their latest tour, stating, “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.”