Metal Anarchy

Rammstein’s Till Lindemann has been dropped from his book publisher Kiepenheuer & Witsch. The move was made following some disturbing allegations against the singer.

As previously reported, a woman recently claimed that she was drugged during a party organized by Rammstein in Vilnius, LIT and that various fans were being being brought in for sexual encounters with members of the group and their road crew.

Now, according to Tagesschau, more women have come forward as well. This includes one alleged victim who woke up in a hotel bed with Lindemann on top of her. The following was said about that incident:

“According to her memories, Lindemann was lying on her when she regained consciousness and asked her if he should stop. “And I didn’t even know what he wanted to stop doing.” Lindemann then left at some point. Members of his team later offered her drugs. She rejected that.”

The report goes on to say that other women have presented evidence and accounts of being screened before being welcomed into parties involving sex, drugs and alcohol. One person even claimed that she was only going to be admitted to a party if she was interested in sex with Lindemann. A number of chatlogs and screenshots have since backed up her claims.

With all of this in mind, Kiepenheuer & Witsch issued the following statement:

“It is with shock that we have followed public allegations against Till Lindemann in the last few days. Our sympathy and respect goes to the women affected.

In the course of current reporting, we became aware of a porn video in which Till Lindemann celebrates sexual violence against women and in which the 2013 book ‘In Still Night‘ published by Kiepenheuer & Witsch plays a role. We rate this as gross breach of trust and as a ruthless act in relation to the values we represent as a publisher.

We defend the freedom of art with full conviction. Through Till Lindemann’s actions that humiliate women in the aforementioned porn and the targeted use of our book in a pornographic context, the separation between the ‘lyrical I’ and the author/artist, which we so staunchly defended, is mocked by the author himself.

From our point of view, Till Lindemann exceeds immovable limits in dealing with women. We have therefore decided to end our collaboration with Till Lindemann with immediate effect, as our relationship of trust with the author has been irretrievably broken.”

The band have since responded as well [translated from German]:

“The publications of the last few days have caused irritation and questions among the public and especially among our fans. The allegations hit us all very hard, and we take them extremely seriously. We say to our fans: It is important to us that you feel comfortable and safe at our shows—in front of and behind the stage.

We condemn any kind of transgression and ask you: Do not engage in public prejudice of any kind against those who have made allegations. You have a right to your point of view. But we, the band, also have a right—namely not to be prejudiced either.”

[via The PRP]