Marilyn Manson has been making headlines left, right, and center for a few years now, revolving around sexual abuse allegations, legal battles, and lawsuits. The shock rocker has become infamous with the phrase ‘sexual abuser’ as the women who have been involved with the musician one way or another keep coming forward with their stories.
The allegations toward Manson had been circling for many years, but no one brought it to the limelight until 2021. It all started when his ex-girlfriend and the ‘Westworld’ actress Evan Rachel Wood posted on her official Instagram account publicly announcing that Manson had abused her for years. She even released a two-part documentary titled ‘Phoenix Rising’ to share her story’s details, including his raping the actress for the ‘Heart-Shaped Glasses’ music video.
Wood releasing her truth to the world encouraged several other women to come out with their tragic stories, resulting in sexual assault and sexual battery lawsuits against the musician. After Rachel’s bold statement, the ‘Game of Thrones’ actress Esme Bianco also filed a sexual assault lawsuit against Manson and his business by stating that the singer had raped and battered her sexually.
Besides Bianco, other women involved with Manson at one point, like his ex-wife Dita Von Teese and singer Lana Del Rey, who had reportedly dated the musician, were also dragged into the court case. Von Teese was brought as a witness as they were together for seven years. However, she wasn’t aware of Manson’s behaviors as she wasn’t a victim and described her divorce as a result of infidelity and drug abuse.
Lana Del Rey and director Eli Roth were potential witnesses in the case, as Rey had previously been involved with the singer. There was even the disturbing video directed by Eli with Manson back in 2012. The footage showcased Rey fighting off a male, forcing her onto a bed. After the controversial clip spread on the internet, Manson denied NME that the footage was shot for him.
Marilyn Manson’s words about the clip read:
“It wasn’t a Marilyn Manson video. The editor of the company that put it out was somebody who’s edited my videos; that video was something that was done with a camera that Eli [Roth – director], who’s my friend, and I both wanted to test out, so I let him test it out […] what they filmed was put in a context seemingly as if it were a Marilyn Manson video, and that was in no way the intention.”
The singer admitted that he was involved in some parts of the shooting of the video, but the rape scene was filmed separately and later edited by someone not affiliated with Manson to make it seem like it was part of it. More recently, Manson faced another lawsuit for sexually assaulting a minor in the ’90s when he started his career in the industry.
Manson had invited the victim and another young girl to his tour bus when she was 16 and sexually assaulted and gaslit her to destabilize her and keep her under control emotionally. Again, Manson clapped back against the allegations by stating that they were ‘fabrications.’ Whether it be with Lana Del Rey or, more recently, the Jane Doe who came forward, Manson’s history with abuse allegations goes way back nearly 25 years. What do you think about the accusations?
