Marilyn Manson has branded the sexual abuse allegations against him 'horrible distortions of reality' as he broke his silence on Instagram on Tuesday.
The rocker, 52, has spoken out after at least five women - former fiancée, Westworld star, Evan Rachel Wood, 33, an artist known only as Gabriella, Ashley Walters, Sarah McNeilly, and Ashley Lindsay Morgan - claimed they had been victims of sexual misconduct, manipulation, and physical and emotional abuse at his hands.
Manson insisted all his relationships have been 'entirely consensual' and accused the women of trying to 'misrepresent the past' after he was dropped by his record label.
He said in a statement posted on Instagram: 'Obviously, my life and my art have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality.
'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.'
Comments were turned off the post but it was liked by the Rock is Dead hitmaker's wife, Lindsay Usich.
In a statement, Evan accused Manson – whose real name is Brian Warner – of 'grooming' her when she was a teenager, and alleged he 'horrifically abused' her throughout their relationship. And four other women have made statements.
In the wake of the allegations, Manson has been dropped by his record label, Loma Vista Recordings, and fired from his role in American Gods.
Network Starz said of the latter: '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. Starz stands unequivocally with all victims and survivors of abuse.'
And in addition, AMC's Shudder have pulled his upcoming episode of horror anthology series Creepshow.
Marilyn Manson has been dropped by his record label after four women accused him of leaving them with PTSD and his former fiance Evan Rachel Wood named him as her abuser.
Three say they had romantic relationships with him that started with him 'love bombing them' but then turned abusive.
'As a survivor myself, I was horrified to hear of these domestic violence allegations. We need to stand with the victims. We know they are almost always isolated from loved ones, making it that much more difficult to escape or seek justice.
'Victims are usually not believed or are threatened to keep quiet, so when they do come forward, we need to support them.
'These allegations of physical, emotional and financial abuse against Marilyn Manson, also known as Brian Hugh Warner, must be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.
'If law enforcement does not do that, we will not only fail these victims but future possible victims of the alleged perpetrator. We must not let that happen,' she said.
Ashley Walters said she met Manson after he contacted her on social media asking to collaborate.
She is a photographer in Los Angeles and says she admired his work.
It's not clear from her post when the pair met or if their relationship was ever sexual.
She says she started working for him as a personal assistant after six months, that the pair became close - 'like family - but then their relationship changed.
She said he 'frequently' became violent, once threw glass plates at her and 'offered' her up for 'sexual relationships with collaborators'.
'I continue to suffer from PTSD, and struggle with depression.
'I stayed in touch with quite a few people who went through their own traumas, under his control. As we all struggled, as survivors do, to get on with our lives, I’d keep hearing stories disturbingly similar to our own experiences.
'It became clear the abuse he’s caused; he continues to inflict on so many and I cannot stand by and let this happen to others.
'Brian Warner needs to be held accountable,' she said.
Los Angeles-based model Sarah McNeilly also used the phrase 'love bombing'. She says Warner 'lured' her in by acting loving but then turned violent.
Among her claims is that he threw her against a wall, threatened to bash her face in with a baseball bat, locked her in a room when she was 'bad' and verbally berated her for 'hours'.
She did not gave dates for when they knew each other.
'I have been afraid to bring any spotlight upon myself as to avoid winding up in his cross hairs again.
'As a result of the way he treated me, I suffer from mental health issues and PTSD that have affected my personal and professional relationships, self-worth and personal goals.
'I believe he gets off on ruining people's lives. I stand in support of all that have and all will come forward. I want to see Brian held accountable for his evil.
Morgan said she met Manson when she was working as a model in Thailand in 2009.
She claims they had a mutual friend and that after talking and texting for months, he flew her to Los Angeles.
She did not detail how long they spent together but alleged abuse and said he also asked her to bring him Nazi memorabilia from Asia, even though she is Jewish.
She says she also 'wasn't allowed to eat or sleep or leave' his home.
'I have night terrors, PTSD, anxiety, and mostly crippling OCD. I try to wash constantly to get him out or off of me. I am coming forward so he will finally stop,' she said in part.
The fourth woman is an artist called Gabriella. She said she met him in 2015 when she was 22 and he was 46 backstage at one of his shows.
She says he 'love bombed' her immediately.
'Things went from 0 to 100 at full speed... he worked a kind of magic on me,' she said.
Among her claims is that he forced her to take drugs with him and that they made a blood pact.
'I had fallen deeply for an illusion of safety and love. Every aspect of my life was affected I suffered financially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
'It has taken me five years to speak out. I have been diagnosed with PTSD and still suffer from nightmares. I blocked out a lot of the memories, but the feelings remain and manifest in various ways. The reason I’m finally sharing this traumatic
'Experience is for my healing and because I’m done being silent. I don’t believe it’s fair for someone to not be held accountable for their horrific actions.
'I’m not a victim. I’m a survivor,' she wrote.
In her statement, 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.'
She also posted screenshots of tweets written by Dan Cleary - Manson's former assistant in December 2020. He said in them that he knew Wood when she was with Manson and that by the end of their relationship, he had 'broken' her.
Wood reconciled with her English actor Jamie Bell after her romance with Manson ended in 2010. She and Bell had one son together before splitting in 2013. She then revealed she was bisexual and dating a non-binary partner in 2019, but she did not reveal who they were.
In the past, Manson has denied violence through an attorney. But in a 2009 interview with Spin, he made disturbing remarks about wanting to 'smash' Wood's skull in.
He was being asked about his new album and was asked: 'It sounds like the period after you and Evan Rachel Wood broke up was really tough. What was your lowest point?'
He replied: 'My lowest point was Christmas Day 2008, because I didn’t speak to my family. My walls were covered in scrawlings of the lyrics and cocaine bags nailed to the wall.
'And I did have an experience where I was struggling to deal with being alone and being forsaken and being betrayed by putting your trust in one person, and making the mistake of that being the wrong person. And that’s a mistake that everyone can relate to. I made the mistake of trying to, desperately, grasp on and save that and own it. And every time I called her that day — I called 158 times — I took a razor blade and I cut myself on my face or on my hands.
'I didn’t want people to ask me every time I did an interview, “Oh, is this record about your relationship with your ex-girlfriend?” But that damage is part of it, and the song “I Want to Kill You Like They Do in The Movies” is about my fantasies.
'I have fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.' The interviewer replied: 'Wow'. He replied: 'Merry Christmas'.
Manson and Wood got engaged after the interview and did not break up for another year after it took place.
In November 2020, the comments resurfaced. Then, his reps played them down as him being a 'theatrical rockstar'.
She also said she had only agreed to come forward because she learned that the her abuser had hurt other women too.
The Hollywood Reporter wrote that in May of 2018, a police report was filed against Manson citing unspecified sex crimes that allegedly took place in 2011.
But in August of 2018, the Los Angeles District’s Attorney office announced that it was declining to pursue that case because of a lack of corroborating evidence.
It is unclear who the victim in that case was.
Manson’s attorney at the time, Howard E. King, told The Hollywood Reporter that the 'allegations made to the police were and are categorically denied by Mr. Warner and are either completely delusional or part of a calculated attempt to generate publicity.
'Any claim of sexual impropriety or imprisonment at that, or any other, time is false.'
Manson is currently married to artist Lindsay Usich. She has not commented on the claims against him.
They got married in February last year during lockdown in a small ceremony that Nicholas Cage said he watched over FaceTime.
Before Wood, he was married to burlesque performer Dita Von Teese from 2005-2007 and they dated for six years prior.
Von Teese has never alleged abuse by him. He claimed after they split that she couldn't accept his rockstar lifestyle.
'But buyer beware. She said she had tolerated the lifestyle because she hoped I would change and threatened to leave if I didn’t. I was sleeping on the couch in my own home. I was no longer supposed to be a rockstar. I was someone who had to be apologized for. I wasn’t prepared to be alone. I came out of this naked, a featherless bird,' he said.
She told The Sunday Telegraph: 'Everything went downhill after we got married.
'I started working a lot to escape my home life.'
Before Dita, he'd been engaged to Rose McGowan. She ended their engagement in 2001, blaming 'lifestyle differences.'
In a statement, the actress famously said: 'There is great love, but our lifestyle difference is, unfortunately, even greater.'
She has not accused him of abuse. McGowan was famously among the first women to speak out against Harvey Weinstein.
In 2018, when revealing she had been abused but without naming Manson, she said she was told by her lawyers that she could not bring any action against the person who had hurt her because the statute of limitations had passed.
It extends the statute of limitations in California on domestic violence felonies from three to five years.
