They were disturbing scenes. This doesn’t mean the horror puppet show that the band does Rammstein on four August evenings in the sold-out Olympic Stadium, unimpressed by the allegations against singer Till Lindemann that were made at the time. What happened around the four demonstrations against the concerts was shocking. The malice and insults from some fans who passed the group of around 40 demonstrators. For Micha (who does not want to give her last name publicly) they were “the worst demonstrations” she had ever taken part in with the Slutwalk organization, “and there were even anti-Pegida protests.” Fans gave them the middle finger and their bare bottoms, told them they were just jealous of Lindemann’s groupies and that they simply needed to be “taken care of” or they should “perish.” To protect them, the police took them to the subway after the demonstrations.
Nevertheless, it was immediately clear to Micha and her fellow campaigners when they heard that Lindemann would be coming back to the city on a solo tour: “We have to demonstrate again! Even if it feels like fighting against windmills.” Directly on the day of the concert, on Monday, December 18th, Slutwalk and other groups such as “KO – No Victim eV” with the explicit support of the Munich Greens will unconditionally clarify all allegations at 6 p.m. under the motto “No show for perpetrators”. of all Lindemann concerts until then and call for solidarity with victims of sexual violence – on Odeonsplatz, not directly in front of the venue, the Zenith.
From June 2023 onwards, numerous women from several countries reported disturbing experiences surrounding Rammstein concerts and parties on the Internet and in newspaper articles. Namely that she and others were introduced to the rock star in a kind of “casting system” in order to sexually satisfy him before, during and after the concert.
The tour’s concerts were then under strict observation. In Munich, the district administration department (KVR) banned fans from staying in “Row Zero”, i.e. in the security and technical area in front of the stage, and banned after-show parties in the stadium. The KVR sent employees and once even its speaker to check – no violations of the rules were found. A KVR spokeswoman said that the Lindemann solo concert “will not be accompanied by employees of the district administration department,” but the organizer was informed that “as usual, no row zero is permitted.” At the SZ’s request, Andrea Blahetek-Hauzenberger, managing director of Global Concerts, the organizer of the Munich solo show, confirmed this and also that there would be “no after-show parties in the hall”.
The city pushed for the deployment of awareness teams in the stadium, but there won’t be any this time. But according to the organizer, there are “sufficient security guards” who “can be contacted at any time”. A rejection was out of the question for her: “We have a contract that we have to fulfill.”
The concert – which, unlike the Rammstein shows, can only be attended by people over the age of 18 due to sexual representations – was sold out in no time. The fans remain loyal to their idol. This time, the Slutwalk demonstrators do not even seek direct confrontation with the supporters, also because they feel unsafe alone with them outside at Zenith. They are also cautious about accusing Lindemann personally for legal reasons. Their aim is to raise awareness in general about “victim blaming”, i.e. the fact that victims of sexual violence are often assigned partial blame: “What was she wearing? She knew how it works.”
They want to point out a patriarchal “system of abuse of power,” especially in the music industry. “Everyone who supports this is complicit,” says Slutwalk spokeswoman Sophie Boner, “everyone who goes to concerts and helps finance the system.” The activists have given up trying to get through to Rammstein fans. At the stadium concerts, a single visitor tore up her ticket and joined them. Anyway.