John 5 shared details about his infamous on-stage altercation with Marilyn Manson in a recent Lipps Service interview.
“My dad was dying. He was very ill and I was working. He was super sick,” John 5 explained. “And I went down to the bottom of the stairs after I got off stage and Tony the manager said, ‘Oh you should um, you should call your sister.'”
“My sister Mary. And I said, ‘My dad died, right?’ And he goes, ‘Just call Mary.’ I go, ‘My dad died, right?’ And kind of preparing myself. He goes ‘Just call home,'” he continued. “So I call my sister, and she’s crying hysterically. I’m like, ‘Did dad die?’ She goes, ‘Lynne died.’ And that was my other sister, and I was like, ‘What?’ My other sister died.”
“I was in a state of shock. I was literally in a state of shock. I have no idea what was going on. So I didn’t sleep for, now it sounds hard to believe, but I didn’t sleep for like six, seven days. I was starting to lose my mind,” John 5 added.
“And then Manson, you know that thing bumps into me or hits me. But that happened every night, right? And I’m telling you, I just snapped,” he said. “I don’t even remember it. It was so unprofessional on my part, and I felt so bad about it. I can’t watch it.”
“You can’t hear what Manson was saying [in the video]. But the guy is so smart. He goes, ‘Pick up your guitar. Pick up your guitar. Just pick up your guitar.’ He’s like, ‘Pick your guitar up. Don’t bring your family into this.’ And I was shocked, but I felt so horrible,” he concluded. “And it was so unprofessional on my part. But then that night I passed out and went to sleep.”
The widely circulated YouTube video captured a moment when John 5 was dealing with personal tragedy.
The newly revealed context sheds light on this significant moment in John 5’s career with Marilyn Manson.
MetalSucks revealed the confrontation occurred at the Rock Am Ring festival in 2003 during preparations for ‘Beautiful People.’
Loudwire reported that John 5 left Manson’s band on good terms. He subsequently formed his own band called Loser.
The guitarist’s career flourished after the incident. He joined Rob Zombie’s band in 2006 and has maintained that position while releasing solo material.
MXDWN noted that viewers often misinterpreted the footage. What appeared as an aggressive confrontation was actually Manson trying to calm his emotionally vulnerable bandmate.
