Rammstein fan Shelby Lynn alleges she was groomed for sex
- Published
A woman from Northern Ireland has told the BBC she was recruited and "groomed" for sex with the lead singer of the German heavy metal band Rammstein.
Shelby Lynn, who also claims her drink was spiked at a concert in Vilnius in May, first made the claims on social media.
Her allegations triggered a wave of other sexual misconduct allegations against the band's frontman Till Lindemann.
The band have denied the claims.
A spokesman for Rammstein told the BBC an internal investigation was under way with the first results expected early next week.
The band, well known for its flamboyant shows and controversial lyrics, has been engulfed by scandal in recent weeks as a growing number of women claim that they were recruited for sex during concerts.
'Row zero'
Like Ms Lynn, some suspect they were pre-selected on social media by a Russian woman, believed to have been a "recruiter" for Mr Lindemann, who invited them to parties before and after the show.
She also gave them access to a restricted area directly in front of the stage, known as "Row Zero".
Ms Lynn, who is 24 and from Ballymena in County Antrim, told the BBC that when she arrived at the venue a man named Joe asked her and other young women to line up.
She said: "He started filming... about four girls, including myself. He got very close to our faces."
She claimed that shortly afterwards he picked her and several other girls to attend a pre-concert party, where she was given alcohol and told Till Lindemann would like to meet her during a brief intermission once the concert began.
"I said: 'Why? Why me? Is this some sort of a sex thing?' [He replied:] 'No, no, no, nothing like that, nothing like that at all. Till's the perfect gentleman.'"
Ms Lynn said she was ushered into a small room underneath the stage.
"As soon as Joe opens the curtains my stomach drops - this is bad, this is a sex thing absolutely.
"This room was no bigger than a Primark dressing room - like teeny tiny, dark black - you could maybe fit four or five people in it.
"Till comes in and I immediately say: 'Till, if you're here for sex. I'm not doing that.'"
The singer, she said, reacted angrily and left.
'Organised system'
Ms Lynn, who has emphasised on social media she wasn't sexually assaulted, said her memory of the evening was "blurry" and she recalls feeling nauseous and vomiting at a party after the concert.
She believes her drink was spiked and that she was the victim of an "organised system of funnelling girls".
"I was groomed, 100 percent, no doubt in my mind. I was groomed for sex," she said.
Rammstein initially reacted to her claims last month by releasing a statement online in which the band fully denied them.
On Saturday, after other women came forward with allegations, the band published another statement, saying that they took the accusations extremely seriously.
They condemned any kind of assault but asked their fans not to "pre-judge" them.
A spokesman for the band has subsequently told the BBC that it is now investigating the claims and interviewing staff and crew as part of the enquiry.
Rammstein is currently performing several concerts in Germany.
After demands from several politicians, including the German families minister, Wednesday's show in Munich went ahead with no "Row Zero".
There were specialist "awareness teams" on hand to assist anyone in a vulnerable position.
The spokesman added that the band had severed contact with the Russian woman accused of helping to select women for "Row Zero".
They said private after-show parties with Till Lindemann had been cancelled.
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- Published29 March 2019