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In the last years, There have been several accusations of crimes of a sexual nature against music icon Marilyn Manson, Brian Warner’s ‘nom de plume’. From rape to aggression, harassment or even torture, there were several complaints that had the eccentric singer as a target.
Still, the case has just taken a turn, with the retreat of one of the women who had claimed to have been sexually assaulted by the 54-year-old artist, who says she was coerced into doing so by Evan Rachel Wood and Esmé Bianco, two of Manson’s ex-girlfriends, who is currently in a relationship with photographer Lindsay Usich.
However, not everything may be what it seems and with social media already in turmoil, the ingredients are gathered for a repetition of the controversial dispute between Johnny Depp and Amber Heardeven because Marilyn Manson is using the same strategy as the actor, claiming defamation against him.
THE FIRST CHARGES
The first public complaint regarding alleged crimes by Marilyn Manson came in 2021 by actress Evan Rachel Woodwho dated the singer between 2007 and 2010. In a statement made via Instagram, the ‘Westworld’ star claimed that Manson “abused her for years”, since he was a teenager, and advanced truly shocking reports.
“I have been brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I no longer want to live in fear of retaliation, insults or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and point the finger at the many industries that allowed him to do so before he did. ruin more lives,” continued the actress who added: “My experience was this: toxic mental, physical and sexual abuse that started slowly but escalated over time, including threats to my life (…) and waking up to the man who claimed to love me violating what he believed to be my unconscious body“.
The height, Manson declared that these accusations were “an enormous distortion of reality”. and he vehemently denied them, having, even so, been dismissed by his record company, as well as cut from a television series in which he was going to participate.
Marilyn Manson, Evan Rachel Wood
Photo: Getty Images
THE VOICES THAT COME TOGETHER
Quickly, Evan Rachel Wood’s accusation was echoed by several other former voice partners of ‘The Beautiful People’ who came forward with similar allegations. Ashley Walters mentioned that Manson “often became a violent person”, Sarah McNeilly says she was physically and verbally threatened, Gabriella said that the singer repeatedly attacked and raped her and forced her to take drugs, while Ashley Lindsay Morgan even mentioned that Manson wouldn’t let her eat, sleep, or leave her house.
At the same time, Dan Cleary, an instrument technician who has toured with Marilyn Manson, underlined the allegations of Evan Rachel Wood, saying that, while working with him, he saw him humiliating and threatening the actresssaying that he “made her cry and fear him made her feel good”.
In the months that followed, ‘Game of Thrones’ actress Esmé Bianco and Ashley Smithline have joined the aforementioned allegations with civil lawsuits against Marilyn Mansonwhose legal representatives claimed that their client was the victim of a plot by these women, who intentionally collaborated to “transform consensual friendships and relationships (…) into manipulated tales that did not coincide with reality”.
Since then, several of the lawsuits against the singer are no longer in progress. Esmé Bianco has reached a deal with Manson to “move on with her life”the case of Ashley Smithline ended when her lawyer, Jay Ellwanger, leftthe model did not find new legal representation, and, finally, that of Ashley Walters fell because the reported facts had already expired.
On the other hand, Rose McGowen and Dita Von Teese, both of Manson’s ex-girlfriends, have not corroborated the abusive personality attributed to the singer., saying that the experience reported by those women did not coincide with their own. However, McGowen pointed out that this did not refute that the allegations could correspond to the truth.
DEFAMATION AND RETURN
Like this, Marilyn Manson has decided to sue Evan Rachel Wood and his girlfriend Ashley Gore for defamation and other crimes, including falsifying federal documents. According to the ‘Los Angeles Times’, the singer’s lawyer, Howard King, referred that the couple “secretly recruited, coordinated and pressured potential accusers to emerge concurrently with allegations of rape and abuse”.
In addition, he pointed the finger at the actress: “With the help of (Ashley) Gore, Wood has gone from being someone who is even better known for having dated Marilyn Manson a decade ago to an extroverted advocate for victims of domestic violence, absolving his reputation for having a wild past and the embarrassment of having been in a relationship with Marilyn Manson“.
The truth is that now everything has changed. Ashley Smithline, who filed a lawsuit against Manson in June 2021, has gone publicduring the past week, back off your accusations and claimed to have been manipulated by Evan Rachel Wood and Ashley Gorethrough a press release.
“In November 2010, I had a brief, consensual sexual relationship with Brian Warner, aka Marilyn Manson… Ten years later, I succumbed to pressure from Evan Rachel Wood and her associates to bring rape and assault charges against Mr. Warner that were not true. In 2020, I was contacted by Ashley Walters or Ilma (Ashley) Gore to participate in a meeting of women who had had relationships or experiences with Mr. Warner. (…) Looking back, I feel that I was manipulated by Mrs. Wood, Mrs. Gore, Mrs. Bianco and Mr. Ellwanger (former Smithline attorney) to publicly spread false allegations,” it read.
REVERSE REFUSED
The cited document led to a wave of Marilyn Manson supporters rising across digital platforms, equivalent to the posture of Evan Rachel Wood to that of Amber Heard, in the case of Johnny Depp. Conversely, activists on social media were concerned that this sudden turnaround would lead to more victims of violence and sexual abuse being discredited.
Predictably, Howard King welcomed this new development, saying: “It’s no surprise that Evan Rachel Wood is desperately trying to keep Ashley Smithline’s testimony out of court.. She knows the truth will expose her intent to manipulate the women who trusted her to destroy Brian Warner,” she told Rolling Stone.
However, Evan Rachel Wood and her legal representatives were quick to point out inconsistencies in Ashley Smithline’s new statements. In a document cited by the same publication, the 35-year-old actress refuted the hypothesis of having manipulated Smithline and presented evidence that, in her view, supports her thesis.
Between them, a comment left by Smithline on Evan Rachel Wood’s Instagram in 2019, that is, the year before the first public complaintwhich directly referenced allegations whose target was still unknown: “When he locked me up in that stupid ballet studio, I shuddered to hear him brag about repeating that scene from ‘The Rules of Attraction’“, he wrote.
In addition to this, there are several messages sent by Smithline to the interpreter, in which she complained of being pursued by Marilyn Manson fans, as well as two voice messages sent by her to a friend, in which she alleges that Howard King had her called for a one-on-one conversation: “The only reason he’s calling me is he thinks I’m the weakest link and you can try to make me turn against the other girls“, he would have said.
Perhaps for this reason, Judge Teresa A. Beaudet of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where the case is being heard, found Smithline’s statement inadmissiblecontrary to the intentions of Marilyn Manson’s lawyers in the defamation suit.
With all of this on the table, one can foresee an arduous and complex process, with varied consequences, some of which may jeopardize future voices that may rise to denounce crimes of this nature, in a post-‘#MeToo’, marked by the counterattack of the stars under which these processes fall.
