In May 2023, the singer of the metal band Rammstein, Till Lindemann, was accused of assault in connection with a concert in Lithuania. Shelby Lynn from Northern Ireland claimed to have been recruited, "groomed" and drugged during a pre-party to the concert. She later clarified that no sexual assaults had occurred.
Lindemann denied the allegations and his lawyers stated that they were "without exception untrue".
In June 2023, Der Spiegel published an article with the headline "Sex, power, alcohol – what the young women from the front row report". A report that later became a court case. A German court prohibited Der Spiegel from implying that Lindemann had drugged or intoxicated women in connection with concerts.
One effect of the allegations was that Lindemann lost his publisher and that the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office started an investigation, which was later dropped in August 2023. The Public Prosecutor's Office then announced that "the information provided by witnesses in the press could not be confirmed by the investigation".
Now, Lindemann has taken legal action and filed a complaint against the executives of Der Spiegel, according to a press release from the singer's legal representative. In the complaint, it is claimed that the newspaper's reporting contained forged documents and an attempt to commit perjury.