Judge Orders Marilyn Manson to Cover Nearly $327,000 of Evan Rachel Wood’s Legal Costs
In the ongoing legal saga between Marilyn Manson (née Brian Warner) and the number of women accusing him of being an abusive piece of shit — among other charges — a Los Angeles County Superior Court ruled that he’s gotta pay a huge chunk of actress Evan Rachel Wood‘s legal fees.
The same judge that ordered the case be dismissed on First Amendment grounds, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Teresa A. Beaudet, ordered that Manson pay $326,956 to cover the Westworld actress’ legal fees that were accrued while defending against the rocker’s defamation claims.
The ruling, according to Rolling Stone, is just the latest wrinkle in a protracted legal battle between the two entertainers in which Wood was accused by the shock rocker of defamation. Warner filed the lawsuit back in March 2022, alleging that Wood and Illma Gore were conspiring to ruin his career by making claims that he was a “rapist and abuser.” Those claims, the lawsuit alleged, were made to completely upend Manson’s personal and professional life.
Though he was ordered to pay a huge amount, the judge knocked roughly $60,000 off the final amount because some of Wood’s descriptions for her legal team’s billed hours were “vague.”
And while the judge axed a large part of Manson’s lawsuit against Wood and Gore, the overarching lawsuit remains ongoing as the pair are still facing charges that they still tried to hurt Manson in multiple ways. Those ways include trying to break into his personal computer, trying to impersonate him online, and “swatting” Manson.
Manson also alleges that Wood recruited and pressured numerous women to accuse him of mistreatment in what can only be described as a coordinated attack against the rocker. That allegation was struck down by the judge. Naturally, Manson denies all of those allegations.
Last September, Manson reached a private settlement with an unnamed accuser who said he raped her back in 2011, during which he allegedly didn’t allow her to eat or sleep during their relationship. She alleged that he threatened to “bash her head in” if she ever reported his alleged deeds. Manson also settled with Game of Thrones actress Esmé Bianco last January, who also accused him of beating and raping her.
Meanwhile, Ashley Walters won an appeal this past December that brought her previously dismissed case against Manson back to court, while Ashley Morgan Smithline’s case ran out the clock and ended in default before taking back her claims against the musician.
So it should go without saying, but Manson’s gonna be tied up in legal proceedings for a good long while.
