Marilyn Manson sued by former assistant Ashley Walters
Music

Marilyn Manson’s former assistant sues for sexual assault, battery

Marilyn Manson’s former assistant Ashley Walters has joined the chorus of women accusing the rocker of abusive behavior — and is now suing him over it.

The 37-year-old Walters’ suit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles, accuses Manson of sexual assault, battery, and harassment, per the Cut.

Walters, 37, and Manson, 52, met in 2010 after he made contact via MySpace and the two subsequently discussed Walters’ photography work over the phone. She visited him at home, where he insisted on a late-night photo shoot, requesting at one point that she take her shirt off.

Walters alleges that after the shoot, Manson pushed her to his bed, restrained her with his body and attempted to kiss her, before he “moved behind Walters and bit her ear while grabbing her hand and placing it in his underwear.”

Walters said she remembered thinking the incident “probably” didn’t count as assault, since things stopped at that point. She stayed in touch with Manson afterward, and eventually he offered her the job as his personal assistant at double her then-salary.

Marilyn Manson's former assistant Ashley Walters has joined the chorus of women accusing the rock star of abuse.
Marilyn Manson’s former assistant Ashley Walters has joined the chorus of women accusing the rock star of sexual and physical abuse.

However, once she was in the employ of the rock star — né Brian Warner — he allegedly forced her to work by his nocturnal schedule and keep up with his days-long, purportedly drug-fueled binges, expecting her to work for 48 hours straight.

Walters claims that Manson would threaten her, throw dishes at her and push her up against a wall, at one point emailing her a photo of the wounds he allegedly inflicted on actress Esmé Bianco — who has filed her own suit against the “Beautiful People” singer — with the subject line, “See what happens?”

Walters further alleges that Manson would “[offer her] up to his influential industry friends and associates,” telling one actor that he could “have her” and introducing her to a director who allegedly sexually abused her.

“It made me feel like I was his property,” she told the Cut. “It just made me feel like a piece of meat.” A source near Manson confirmed aspects of his behavior towards Walters to the Cut, saying they witnessed Manson direct her to sit on men’s laps and “offered up Ashley more than a few times.”

Over a dozen women have come forward to accuse Marilyn Manson of various forms of abuse.
Over a dozen women have come forward to accuse Marilyn Manson of various forms of abuse. Getty Images

Other details of Walters’ suit dovetail with allegations other women have made against Manson, including his fixation with Nazi memorabilia, which he allegedly pushed Walters and his ex Evan Rachel Wood to pose with so he could photograph them and use the pictures as collateral against them.

“A lot of the isolation and a lot of the psychological abuse was very similar to what I experienced,” Walters said of Bianco and Wood’s claims, which they reached out to her about in the fall of 2020.

Manson fired Walters in 2011, before allegedly hacking into her Facebook account, accusing her of theft, and continuing to threaten her. He also persisted in texting her, though the suit says she humored his communications because she preferred to “have him as a friend as opposed to an enemy.”

Walters is one of over a dozen women who have accused Manson of abuse, including Wood, Bianco, and most recently, Ashley Morgan Smithline.

A member of Manson’s team “vehemently denied any accusations of assault” to Page Six.