The complainants claim that the singer “is a drug addict” who also subjected them to “psychological torture”
Evan Rachel Wood, known for her roles as Reina Iduna in the film “Frozen II” or Dolores Abernathy in the series “Westworld”, and one of the most combative activists of the #MeToo movement, has accused the singer Marilyn Manson (real name Brian Warner) from sexual and psychological abuse. The actress, who began dating the musician shortly after meeting him when she was 18 years old, has announced it on her Instagram account with this statement: “The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, better known to the world by the alias of Marilyn Manson. He started seducing me when I was a teenager and for years he abused me in horrifying ways. He brainwashed me and manipulated me to be submissive to him. I’m sick of living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to unmask this dangerous man and to put in place the industries that have allowed his behavior before he ruins more lives. I express my support to all the victims who are no longer going to remain silent.
When Rachel Wood says “the name of my abuser is”, she is referring to a previous testimony, in which she revealed that she had been abused, but without saying the name of the perpetrator. He did it in an interview with the magazine «Rolling Stone»in 2016, and recounted in 2018, before a Judicial Subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives, as part of a campaign to get the Bill of Rights for Survivors of Sexual Assault passed in all fifty states. “My experience with domestic violence was as follows: toxic mental, physical and sexual abuse that started slowly but escalated over time, including threats against my life, severe brainwashing and brainwashing, waking up the man who claimed to love me by raping what I thought was my unconscious body ». She also went to the California Senate for the same reason, where she said she had suffered “episodes of extreme jealousy that often ended with my boyfriend destroying our house, cornering me in a room and threatening me.”
Following this revelation, Rachel Wood has shared the statements of four other women who have publicly denounced that they were also abused by Warner. One of them, named Gabriela, accuses the artist of having tied and raped her in a hotel room, and all of them point out that “he is a drug addict” who subjected them to “psychological torture” and “mind control tactics.”
Another victim, Ashley Walters, says she continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. “I kept in touch with quite a few people who went through their own traumas, under their control. As we all struggled, as survivors do, to move on with our lives, I kept hearing stories eerily similar to my own experiences. I cannot stand by and let this happen to others. Brian Warner must be held accountable.
The testimony of another of these women, Sarah McNeilly, is shocking: “I have been afraid to draw attention to myself to avoid ending up in her spotlight again. As a result of the way you treated me, I suffer from mental health issues and PTSD that have affected my personal and professional relationships, my self-esteem and my personal goals. I think he likes to ruin people’s lives. I want Brian to be held accountable for his wrongdoing.
In May 2018, just months after the #MeToo movement began to impact the entertainment industry, The Hollywood Reporter reported that a police report had been filed against Manson citing unspecified sex crimes, which allegedly took place in 2011. In August 2018, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office announced that it was refusing to proceed with the case due to lack of evidence. Manson’s attorney, Howard E. King, responded to the allegations by saying they were “categorically denied by Mr. Warner” and calling them “completely delusional.“
From self-mutilation to abuse
Marilyn Manson’s first known girlfriend, in the early 1990s, was actress Rose McGowan, with whom he spent five years. He then paired up with burlesque actress Dita Von Teese, with whom he had been a boyfriend for five years, before marrying in 2005 in a castle in Ireland with Alejandro Jodorowsky as master of ceremonies.
When they divorced a year later “because of irreconcilable differences ” (according to her), Manson fell into a tremendous depression that led to self-mutilation. “My lowest moment was last Christmas, because I did not speak to anyone in my family,” he confessed in a 2008 interview. “I had a hard time being alone, feeling forgotten and betrayed by putting all my trust in one person, and committing the mistake that he was the wrong person. Every time I called her that day – I called 158 times – she would grab a blade and cut my face or my hands. Now I have fantasies every day about smashing his skull with a mallet.
It was just around this time that she started dating Evan Rachel Wood. He also dated several porn stars, including Traci Lords, Jenna Jameson, and Stoya, and now he’s been with photographer Lindsay Usich for ten years, whom he married in 2020.