Marilyn Manson accused of abuse by Evan Rachel Wood & others
Actress Evan Rachel Wood has accused Marilyn Manson of abuse in a post on Instagram. "He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years," she writes. "I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission." Read the post in full 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 me ruins any more lives.
I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.
Vanity Fair points out that other women also came forward with Wood to accuse Manson of abuse:
In 2018, Wood testified to the House Judiciary Committee, part of a push to implement the Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of Rights Act throughout the country. In 2019, she testified in front of the CA Senate to advocate for the passage of the Phoenix Act. In both testimonies she spoke about her experiences as a survivor of sexual assault and domestic violence but didn't name a perpetrator, explaining in 2019 that the statue of limitations on her case had run out and it was too late for her evidence to be viewed by the state.
"I mustered the courage to leave several times, but he would call my house incessantly and threaten to kill himself," Wood's said in 2019. "On one occasion, I returned to try and defuse the situation, he cornered me in our bedroom, and asked me to kneel. Then he tied me up by my hands and feet. Once I was restrained he beat me and shocked sensitive parts of my body with a torture device called a violet wand. To him it was a way for me to prove my loyalty. The pain was excruciating. It felt like I left my body and a part of me died that day. The worst part was I still felt it was somehow my fault. Society had told me: 'I should just leave when someone hits me,' but this was so much more complicated and so much scarier than anything had ever prepared me for. I didn't know what to call it."
Many speculated that Manson was Wood's unnamed assailant, pointing to the timeline of her accusations and a 2009 Spin article where Manson says of Wood, "I have fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer." A representative for Manson referred to the comment as "obviously a theatrical rock star interview promoting a new record, and not a factual account," when asked about it last year.
A representative for Manson did not respond to Vanity Fair's request for comment about Wood's new statement.