Marilyn Manson Punished for Using Someone as a Kleenex

Controversial shock rocker Marilyn Manson has found himself at the center of various legal troubles over the last few years, with various women accusing him of sexual assault and abuse. Yesterday, Manson (real name Brian Warner) was sentenced for a simple assault charge relating to a 2019 New Hampshire concert at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion.

Manson was originally charged with two misdemeanor counts of simple assault after a videographer at his show on August 19, 2019 accused him of spitting and blowing his nose on her. Manson accepted a deal where he submitted a no contest plea — meaning he did not admit guilt, nor did he contest the charge—to one count. Given the conditions of that deal, the other charge was dismissed.

According to local news station WMUR, Manson will be fined $1,200 (with part suspended) and has to serve 20 hours of community service, though he is allowed to do that in his home state of California. He’ll also have to notify local police if he has a New Hampshire concert in the next two years.

The videographer’s attorney, Belknap County Attorney Andrew Livernois, explained the incident in court:

“During that song, at one point, he approached the camera, looked into the lens and spit at the camera and struck the camera operator with saliva. He approached the camera again, and this time, he expelled matter from his nose at the camera, striking the woman again this time.”

The original article notes that the videographer didn’t object to the conditions of the plea deal. This victim impact statement was read in court:

“For me, I’m a professional person and I’ve been in this industry for 30 years. I’ve worked for a lot of companies, and in all the years I’ve worked with people, I’ve never been humiliated or treated like I was by this defendant. For him to spit on me and blow his nose on me was the most disgusting thing a human being has ever done. I understand this was not a big criminal charge to begin with, but I was hoping that the defendant would receive a sentence that would make him think twice before doing something like this again.”

As he was leaving the courtroom, Manson said he would like to work with people in recovery for his community service.