German authorities have closed their inquiry into Till Lindemann, the frontman of RAMMSTEIN, citing a lack of substantial evidence to support the allegations against him
According to Deutsche Welle, prosecutors declared that their initial investigation failed to uncover any proof of the accusations against Lindemann. Furthermore, prosecutors noted that none of the purported victims who had made allegations against the RAMMSTEIN singer came forward to provide testimony to substantiate their claims.
Lindemann‘s legal representatives issued a statement on August 29, stating, “The swift conclusion of the investigative proceedings by the Berlin state prosecutor’s office underscores the insufficiency of evidence supporting the alleged sexual offenses attributed to our client.”
The investigation had also encompassed Alena Makeeva, a former member of the RAMMSTEIN team who had allegedly extended invitations to individuals for the events in question. However, prosecutors have now dropped their inquiries into her as well.
The allegations of sexual misconduct against Lindemann first emerged in May, following a concert in Lithuania. Despite vehement denials of the claims by RAMMSTEIN, Lindemann‘s publisher severed ties with him, and Universal Music suspended the promotion of RAMMSTEIN‘s music as Berlin’s prosecutor initiated an investigation into Lindemann on charges related to sexual offenses and narcotics distribution.
In June, Lindemann‘s legal team announced their intention to pursue legal action against those who had accused him. It remains uncertain whether Lindemann‘s publisher or Universal Music will reinstate their association with the parties involved.
Soon after the allegations, Christoph Schneider, the drummer of RAMMSTEIN, released a personal statement addressing the claims. The allegations primarily revolved around the “Row 0” parties that have been a part of the band’s concert culture for some time.
Numerous women apparently came forward, asserting that these parties involved the selection of female audience members for backstage gatherings, where they allegedly engaged in sexual encounters with Lindemann and members of RAMMSTEIN‘s road crew.
Although suspicions regarding the supposedly wild nature of “Row 0” parties had circulated within RAMMSTEIN‘s fan community for some time, it was a recent accusation from a woman who attended a May show in Vilnius, Lithuania that garnered widespread attention on the internet and eventually caught the eye of various authorities.
According to her account, the woman claimed that her drink had been spiked or drugged during one of the band‘s “Row 0” party.
Subsequently, several other women stepped forward with allegations related to these backstage gatherings. One woman even claimed to have woken up to find a naked Lindemann on top of her. The use of drugs and alcohol at these parties was a recurring claim among the women who came forward.
In a social media post delivered in his native German language on June 16th, Schneider expressed the following statement:
“Dear people,
I would like to share my personal emotions and thoughts with you.
The accusations of the last few weeks have deeply shaken us as a band and me as a person. You fans certainly too. I feel as if in shock by the things that have been shared on social media and in the press and in print about our singer. This is an ebb and flow of emotions for us band members and crew.
No, I don’t think anything criminally relevant (such as the use of knockout drops) happened. No. I don’t think anything illegal was going on, I’ve never seen anything like it, nor heard anything like it from any of our crew of 100 people. All I heard from Till‘s parties were adults celebrating together. And yet things seem to have happened that, although legally ok, I personally don’t think are ok. Certain structures have grown that went beyond the limits and values of the other band members. It is also important to us that Till‘s parties are not confused with our official after-show parties.
Till has distanced himself from us in recent years and created his own bubble.
With their own people, their own parties, their own projects. That made me sad, definitely. I believe Till when he tells us that he always wanted and still wants to give his private guests a good time. How exactly these guests had imagined this, however, seems to differ in some cases from his own ideas. The wishes and expectations of the women who have now come forward were probably not fulfilled. According to their statements, they felt uncomfortable, on the edge of a situation that they could no longer control.
I feel sorry for her and I feel compassion. However, it is important for me to emphasize something objective: every guest in the backstage area is free to leave (they may have to wait a moment for security to lead them safely to the exit). All bottles are sealed and in full view of the guests freshly opened or they open them themselves.
Water and snacks are available just like Security personnel and medical care available at any time. We want all of our guests to feel comfortable and safe with us!
This is our standard. So I’m sorry to hear that some didn’t feel that way.
We have the greatest fans in the world and they all deserve to be treated with respect! I’m sorry for anyone who wasn’t treated kindly or felt unsafe backstage with us.
Also for Shelby, she deserved a great concert and a wonderful evening.
But I don’t want this whole public dispute about our band to feed the extremes: neither the beast social media, which has not yet been tamed by our society, nor paternalistic tendencies to deny women in their mid-20s the ability to make self-determined decisions about their sexuality and also by no means victim blaming, so that people continue to talk about it if something happened to them. I wish for a calm, level-headed reflection and processing, also in our band.
And all together, six of us. We stand together.”
