UPDATED: Evan Rachel Wood — the actor, singer and activist — has alleged that Marilyn Manson “horrifically abused” her for years when they were in a relationship, which she has alluded to when speaking about being a survivor of domestic violence over the years.
Manson responded to Wood’s allegations hours later in an Instagram post, calling her statements “horrible distortions of reality.” He asserted that his “intimate relationships” have “always been entirely consensual.”
Wood and Manson’s relationship became public in 2007 when she was 19 and he was 38. They became engaged in 2010, but broke up later that year.
In an Instagram post earlyMonday morning, and in a statement to Vanity Fair, Wood said: “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 he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”
The Vanity Fair story has excerpted statements from three other women accusing Manson of abuse, “in a show of solidarity.” (A fourth reportedly deleted her post.)
Though Manson’s representatives did not respond to PvNew’srequests for comment, his former publicist emailed PvNew to say, “TCB believes and supports survivors of abuse.”
But Loma Vista/ Concord Music, which released Manson’s most recent album, dropped him from the label on Monday afternoon.
“In light of today’s disturbing allegations by Evan Rachel Wood and other women naming Marilyn Manson as their abuser, Loma Vista will cease to further promote his current album, effective immediately,” the statement reads. “Due to these concerning developments, we have also decided not to work with Marilyn Manson on any future projects.”
Similarly, a spokesperson for AMC Networks toldPvNewthat Manson’s appearance on an upcoming episode of the Shudder anthology horror show “Creepshow” has been pulled from its upcoming season, and will not air.
In addition, Starz has removed Manson from the remaining episode of “American Gods” that he was set to appear in. “Due to the allegations made against Marilyn Manson, we have decided to remove his performance from the remaining episode he is in, scheduled to air later this season,” a Starz spokesperson toldPvNew. “Starz stands unequivocally with all victims and survivors of abuse.”
Manson responded to Wood’s allegations in an Instagram post on Monday night. “Obviously, my art and my life have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality,” he wrote. “My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how — and why — others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth.”
ned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram/p/CKxZavzAGOe/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13">A post shared by Marilyn Manson (@marilynmanson)
On Monday night, Wood posted a letter on her Instagram written by California State Sen. Susan Rubio to the director of the FBI, asking him to investigate the allegations against Manson.
“Since some of the alleged cases against Mr. Warner are from California, I am especially alarmed. Individuals who engage in this kind of abuse are often serial offenders,” Rubio writes. “If these allegations are true, and no investigation is undertaken, we will be failing the victims and allowing a possible perpetrator to continue abusing unsuspecting victims. That must not be allowed to happen.”
ned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram/p/CKxzHDEFnvU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13">A post shared by Evan Rachel Wood (@evanrachelwood)
Wood began talking about being a survivor of rape and domestic violence in a Rolling Stone article in 2016, and has focused her activism on those issues. In 2019, Wood created the Phoenix Act, a bill that extends the statute of limitations on domestic violence to five years from three. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law in October of 2019, and it took effect in January 2020. Wood testified before the California Senate at the time, saying that her abuser had hidden his drug and alcohol addiction from her, and “had bouts of extreme jealousy, which would often result in him wrecking our home, cornering me in a room, and threatening me.”
“I mustered the courage to leave several times, but he would call my house incessantly and threaten to kill himself,” Wood said at the time. “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.”
In the fall, Wood told PvNew, “When I started being an activist, I really asked myself, where do I even start? So the place that I usually start, because I feel like I’m going to do the most good, are the places that I have direct experience. I think that’s why I’ve done so much on domestic violence and sexual assault.”
Because of Wood’s public comments, which has narrowed down the timing of these alleged incidents, journalists and the public have wondered whether he was the person Wood was talking about. “Why Is Nobody Talking about Marilyn Manson’s ‘Fantasy’ of Killing Evan Rachel Wood?” read a Glamour headline in March 2018 — the piece pointed out that Manson had once said about Wood in a 2009 interview: “I have fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.”
This past fall, Manson ended an interview with the U.K. music magazine metal Hammer when the writer brought up Wood’s name. Later, Manson issued a lengthy statement, denying any wrongdoing.
This story has been updated. Jem Aswad and Ellise Shafer contributed to this report.
