Rammstein frontman Till Lindemann has been dropped as a client by publisher Kiepenheuer & Witsch. The publishing house released both Lindemann’s In stillen Nächten book in 2013 and 100 Gedichte book in 2020.
Kiepenheuer & Witsch cite allegations against Lindemann that stem from a show in Lithuania, as well as usage of In stillen Nächten, which Kiepenheuer & Witsch published, in a porn video that allegedly “celebrates sexual violence against women.”
The following statement comes via Germany’s Metal Hammer, as originally reported by MetalSucks.
“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,” said Kiepenheuer & Witsch of their decision to drop Lindemann.
“In the course of current reporting, we became aware of a porn video in which TillLindemann celebrates sexual violence against women and in which the 2013 book In stillen Nächten 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’ 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.”
In a statement about the Lithuanian show, Rammstein says: “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.”
Separate allegations against Lindemann have since been published by German news channel Tagesschau. Rammstein has yet to comment.
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