Over the past several days, German industrial-metal band Rammstein have been embroiled in a serious controversy, one far more serious than the usual shock and spectacle of their live shows. Here are the facts as we know them so far:
On May 24th, a woman named Shelby Lynn came forward on Twitter, claiming that on May 22nd, she was drugged at a pre-show party before the band’s concert in Vilnius, Lithuania. She stated that she was given a free ticket to “Row 0,” the space in front of the main stage, by a casting director who works with the band who she had previously been in contact with through Instagram.
Upon arrival at the venue, Lynn was approached by DJ Joe Letz, drummer for Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann’s solo project, who invited her to the aforementioned pre-party where Lindemann would be in attendance. Letz later singled her out and told her that Lindemann would like to meet her under the stage during intermission, an offer Lynn accepted after being reassured that it was not for sex. Lynn describes feeling uncharacteristically intoxicated after having three drinks, including a shot given to her by Lindemann, and experienced memory loss pertaining to the show.
During the intermission, Lynn recounts being led to a room underneath the stage, when Lindermann arrived she immediately told him she did not want to have sex which caused him to have an angry outburst and storm out of the room. Lynn has asked those reporting on the story to clarify that she is not making allegations of non-consensual sexual contact.
For the bands part, they released the following statement on May 28th;
“With regard to the allegations circulating on the internet about Vilnius, we can rule out the possibility that what is being claimed took place in our environment. We are not aware of any official investigations into this matter.”
On May 30th, Lynn reported making an official statement to Lithuanian law enforcement. While the investigation is still in progress, more women have come forward with their own accounts of similar incidents, and the situation has attracted the attention of several publications.
*This is a story currently in development and may be updated as we learn more
If you or someone you know is a victim of assault, there is help:
-RAINN: https://www.rainn.org/
-RCNE: https://www.rcne.com/
-Global Survivors Fund: https://www.globalsurvivorsfund.org
