2023-07-23 20:01:19
In an interview with the magazine “Cicero”, Simon Bergmann, lawyer for the Rammstein singer Till Lindemann, raises serious allegations against the Hamburg magazine “Der Spiegel”. His approach in cases of suspicion reporting is now undercutting the methods and level of the “Bild” newspaper. According to Bergmann, it was a “lurid, sensationalist style” that only had a marginal connection to the clarification of grievances.
There could be no question of “equality of arms”, according to Bergmann, referring to celebrities who do not have large financial resources. In such cases, the paper and its lawyers aim to ensure that their victims run out of financial breath in the course of a legal dispute and that they have to give up, because the costs could run into six figures.
“Of course there are people who can and must afford it,” Bergmann told Cicero, “but there are also clients who are prominent but are not millionaires. And the media, the opponents of the trial, know that. And they take into account the financial situation of the person concerned. They say to themselves: We’ll report on the suspicion despite all our reservations, but the scoop is so big that it definitely pays off and we’ll include the lawyer’s fees.”
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“You want to make money with this topic”
Bergmann from the Berlin media law firm Schertz Bergmann spoke to “Cicero” after a series of legal successes against “Spiegel”, most recently in connection with the reporting in the Rammstein case. Thanks to the MeToo movement and Harvey Weinstein, such stories “gained a whole new spin.” Simon Bergmann: “The editors have noticed that this topic triggers people. It attracts a lot of attention, just the buzzword ‘MeToo’ alone, and it guarantees high sales figures, especially in the digital sector.”
That’s why, according to Bergmann, there are hardly any “MeToo” reports without a payment barrier. “They appear in the print edition, which you have to buy, and often in the paid subscription area, so they are not freely accessible. The reason for this is that they also want to make money with it. This has led to a significant increase in impermissible reporting of suspicions and to a dangerous shift in the guidelines. This is a bad development.”
Attorney Bergmann welcomes investigations
The fact that the Berlin public prosecutor’s office is now investigating this matter is viewed positively by Lindemann’s lawyer: “We have nothing against it. On the contrary. An investigation has the advantage that the allegations are clarified, and by professionals and not by investigative journalists.” He and his client would prefer that the public prosecutor’s office check “than that it stays in the room”.
Because the “Spiegel” often ignores the required minimum amount of evidence, which is necessary for a suspicion reporting, Bergmann told “Cicero”. Often there is not even a criminal complaint or an investigation at the beginning: “In the case of Luke Mockridge, the investigation was closed when the reports began Rammstein suspicious activity reports were used as the basis for an investigation. In the case of the gallery owner Johann König – there the “Zeit” was affected – there was no investigation at all, not until today, which did not prevent the weekly newspaper from starting against him.
“Played indignation completely exaggerated”
Of course, according to Till Lindemann’s lawyer, one could raise the question of whether a rock star still has to go to bed with groupies today, whether one should make a “selection” based on visual criteria. Bergmann: “You can evaluate everything critically and raise the moral index finger. I find this feigned indignation completely exaggerated.”
If there were criminal offenses, then he didn’t want to defend it. “I just don’t see it at all right now, at least not in terms of a ‘casting system.’ As for the KO drops, I don’t have anything relevant in the dated Spiegel documents and evidence submitted. The district court of Hamburg has meanwhile also assessed this in the same way.”
“There is no abuse of power”
Bergmann said in the “Cicero” interview that he finds any equation of Till Lindemann with the US film producer Harvey Weinstein and the allegation of abuse of power absurd and without any connection to reality. Weinstein is used “manipulatively” because he guarantees great interest and many clicks in Germany.
Bergmann: “The two cases are treated equally. There’s always a photo of Weinstein, mostly in court, very hypocritically along the lines of ‘It all began with Weinstein and there, too, it all began with a single woman…’ – so it’s suggested that Till Lindemann could end up like this too. Because of serious sexual offences, which, given the current state of affairs, is not even remotely possible and, by the way, not even from the allegations made by the Spiegel rises, is covered.”
Bergmann continues: “The abuse of power does not exist. What kind of power is that supposed to be? Rock star prominence is said to be power. He uses it. Only: You could level this accusation against any celebrity who has sex with a woman who may not be his own.”
According to the lawyer, none of the women said they were prevented from leaving the room. Simon Bergmann on “Cicero”: “But if someone says, like Shelby Linn, that she was spiked, that she was given knockout drops, then we take action against it. Because it is a false statement of fact. And it must be possible for an affected person to defend themselves against this in order to contain the reputational damage. The right of defense is one of the fundamental principles of a constitutional state.”
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