In a recent declaration filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court, Evan Rachel Wood denied that she had ever manipulated Ashley Morgan Smithline into accusing Marilyn Manson of raping her. The actress further claimed that it was Manson who pushed Smithline to change her story.
Smithline first made the headlines about the issue in 2021 when she detailed her relationship with Manson to People. She claimed that the singer raped her, broke her nose, and threw a knife at her during their affair. However, her sexual assault case against Manson was dismissed by a court in California a short while ago.
Last week, Smithline filed a declaration in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming that she had been manipulated by Wood to go public with the allegations. Upon seeing that, the actress decided to fight back by saying that she had never pressured Smithline or any other woman, and she also had the receipts to prove it.
Wood also claimed in her statements that it was actually Smithline who had first contacted her back in March 2019, more than a year before the model alleged Wood reached out to her to meet with accusers. Wood said the filing that she had a screenshot of Instagram comments made by Smithline.
Evan Rachel Wood’s words on the accusation of Smithline:
“I never pressured or manipulated Ashley Morgan Smithline to make any accusations against [Manson], and I certainly never pressured or manipulated her to make accusations that were not true. It was Ms. Smithline who first contacted me in March 2019.”
So, in her filing and response to Smithline, Wood denied she had pressured the model to make false allegations against Marilyn Manson. She also included screenshots of alleged Instagram private messages between herself and Smithline. It looks like we’ll be hearing more statements from both sides in the days ahead.
