Allegations of Sexual Misconduct at Rammstein Concert

A 24-year-old woman from Ireland traveled to Vilnius in late May, having previously been hosted by another woman, who describes herself as a “casting director” on Instagram and is currently on tour with Till Lindemann, according to her social media bio was invited to the Rammstein tour opening concert. You will receive »Row Zero« access (i.e. a concert experience in the immediate area in front of the stage) and an invitation to the pre- and after-party: an exclusive affair.

In the “Row Zero” you have a coveted standing place and the best view of the show. Such places and the Rammstein parties are well known in the scene – so that the co-organizer of this special guest list, who is called Alena Makeeva on Instagram, also has a large following. Remarkable more than 30 000 followers. It remains unclear whether she organizes the guest lists on her own or is officially linked to the management. That Makeeva actually recruits women for “Row Zero” and the parties can be seen on her Instagram stories, in which she diligently shares statements from fans.

The young woman from Ireland, who calls herself Shelby Lynn on social networks, claims on Instagram and Twitter that she had a disturbing concert experience. Among other things, she stood next to herself after an alcoholic drink that was offered to her at a pre-party. During the break in the show, she was led into a small room, into which, according to her, Rammstein singer Till Lindemann came to have sex with her. She refused. Lindemann accepted this but was not pleased. The next day she woke up with memory gaps and also had bruises on her body.

She wants to find out what happened to her and uploads a series of Instagram stories and tweets. Her suspicion: Something was mixed into her drink. She also has the feeling that one is invited to the shows to engage in sex. She also suspects that what happened to her could have happened to others as well. She asks for reports from other concert guests, which she also publishes anonymously.

This story made the rounds on the social media over the Pentecost weekend, the German-speaking press initially kept a low profile. Lindemann’s fall from the Vilnius stage is the big, harmless topic in the gossip press, and the young woman’s allegations are not dealt with. No wonder: Suspicious reporting is thin ice and you will have to do particularly meticulous research. The things that the young concert-goer reports are initially: allegations.

But the research work is apparently already failing when it comes to even correctly reproducing the reports of a female music fan. Anyone who can (and wants to) read or presses the “translate” button on tweets and postings if they don’t speak English can read Lynn’s descriptions. Spoilers: journalists too. Conclusion: Even if there are allegations, it is not impossible to reproduce them correctly.

But of course it turns out differently. The discussion on the net is getting under way. As was to be expected, the young woman’s statements are also completely distorted, prompting her to publish a statement: »I would like to explain it again. Till did NOT touch me. He accepted that I didn’t want sex with him. I never claimed he raped me. Please read the entire Twitter thread for full context before making any claims.«

So a young woman tells her story, is misquoted, feels compelled to clarify the situation – and from this some media fabricate claims that the victim is backtracking. And: »The alleged victim puts his allegations into perspective«. From this, some recipients believe that the young woman lied and that her allegations were fictitious. From a music fan who may have done shit at a concert and who wants to clear up what happened to her, she becomes a suspected perpetrator who spreads lies about a famous musician.

#MetalToo? None, apparently you haven’t even learned anything from the #MeToo era and you still cling to the sexist myth that women want to destroy the careers of successful men with accusations for no reason. It is undisputed that women are often not believed when they report on experiences of violence or assaults. The fact that young women who, as proven fans of bands, experience shit at live shows and also address it, is not believed and you don’t even look at it more closely and ask yourself: “How safe are such events actually?” Is – no matter what The end happened – above all worrying.

I wonder why people get so incredibly angry when prominent men are accused. The fact that Shelby Lynn and now many other young women are talking about what allegedly happened to them at concerts is apparently too blatant an affront for many people. The heated debates are not about finding the truth – nor about whether it is possible for female fans to have experienced bad things at concerts. The great provocation lies in the fact that women are resisting existing structures. And thus attack the tried and tested default, which has actually always worked so well so far.