Evan Rachel Wood Says Marilyn Manson “Horrifically Abused Me for Years”
Update, 11:30 a.m.: More women, as well as two of his former personal assistants, have now come forward to level allegations of abuse against Manson. You can read their stories here.
Evan Rachel Wood has alleged that her former fiancé, Marilyn Manson (né Brian Werner), “horrifically abused me for years.”
When she began dating Manson, the Westworld star was 18 and the shock rocker was 36 (and still married to Dita Von Teese). In a new Instagram post, Wood claims that Manson “started grooming me when I was a teenager” and “brainwashed and manipulated me into submission.” She says she now seeks “to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives.”
Wood first suggested that Manson abused her in 2019 while testifying in front of the California Senate Public Safety committee on behalf of the Phoenix Act, which seeks to create exceptions to the statute of limitations for domestic violence crimes in the state of California. Although Wood shared many harrowing stories as part of that testimony, she declined to name her abuser, saying that “They threatened to kill me or have me killed.” Still, the details of her stories made it clear she was discussing Manson.
The new Instagram post, however, specifically names the singer. “I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail,” Wood writes. “I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”
This past November, Manson abruptly ended an interview with Metal Hammer when they asked him about the allegations. Reps for Manson subsequently released a statement in which they implied that Wood was actually referring to Wood’s The Wrestler co-star, Mickey Rourke; questioned why Wood became engaged to Manson if he was abusing her; and pointed to Manson’s ongoing friendship with a different ex-finacée, the actress Rose McGowan, a leader of the Me Too movement (the implication being that McGowan wouldn’t be friends with Manson if Manson was an abuser).
The allegations against Manson are made all the more unsettling by the fact that in 2017, the singer parted ways with his longtime bassist and collaborator, Jeordie “Twiggy Ramirez” White, after White was accused of rape by his ex-girlfriend, Jack Off Jill frontwoman Jessicka Addams.
Manson has not yet responded to the latest accusations.
You can read Wood’s entire statement below:
“The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson.
“He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years.
“I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission.
“I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail.
“I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives.
“I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”
[via Deadline]
