NEW YORK, Feb 2, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – “Westworld” star Evan Rachel Wood on
Monday accused goth industrial rocker Marilyn Manson of being a “dangerous
man” who subjected her to years of abuse starting when she was a teenager.
The American actor, who began working in entertainment as a child, has in
the past alleged abuse by an ex-partner whom she kept anonymous, but on
Monday identified her abuser as “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,” she said of the Grammy-nominated vocalist in an Instagram post.
Wood, 33, described herself as “brainwashed and manipulated” by Manson but
said she’d had enough of 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 added.
Wood reposted allegations by four other women of rape and sexual and
psychological abuse by 52-year-old Manson, as well as druggings,
intimidation, violence and death threats.
Within hours Manson’s record label, Loma Vista Recordings, announced it was
parting ways with the artist.
“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 label said in a
statement.
“Due to these concerning developments, we have also decided not to work
with Marilyn Manson on any future projects.”
Manson had released three albums with Loma Vista, including his most recent
last year, “We Are Chaos.”
Manson gained a cult following in the 1990s with his eponymous band, named
after the Hollywood icon Marilyn Monroe and the serial killer Charles Manson.
Almost always appearing in ghostly pale pancake make-up, heavy eyeliner,
painted lips and slicked black hair, Manson cultivated a controversial image
after co-founding the group in 1989.
– Sex crime accusations –
His albums, laden with occult references, include “Portrait of an American
Family,” “Antichrist Superstar” and “Mechanical Animals.”
In 2018, shortly after the Harvey Weinstein scandal unleashed a slew of
abuse accusations against powerful men, a police report was filed against
Manson, citing unspecified sex crimes dating back to 2011.
The Los Angeles district attorney dismissed the case, saying the statute of
limitations had expired and noting an “absence of corroboration.”
Neither Manson’s representatives nor his lawyer replied to AFP requests for
comment on the latest accusations.
The goth rocker was engaged to Wood before the pair broke it off in 2010.
Their relationship had first been reported in 2007, when Wood was 19.
He spoke in a 2009 interview of fantasizing about smashing Wood’s skull
with a sledgehammer, although his representatives maintained he was just
being deliberately provocative.
In 2017 Manson notably dismissed his bandmate, Jeordie White, from the
group after the bassist’s former girlfriend accused White of rape.
Wood broke into the mainstream with her leading role in the 2003 film
“Thirteen,” a depiction based on a true story of two teenagers whose
lifestyles grow increasingly destructive as they experiment with sex and hard
drugs, developing petty crime habits.
The part earned her a Golden Globe nomination and she cemented her star
status with a number of film roles in the years that followed including
2009’s “The Wrestler,” directed by Darren Aronofsky.
Wood was rumored to have been a factor in Manson’s divorce from burlesque
superstar Dita von Teese.
The musician also dated and was engaged to actor Rose McGowan, who is among
the most high-profile women to have accused Weinstein.
McGowan cited a “lifestyle difference” in explaining the end of their
relationship.
In 2018 Wood gave a harrowing account of her experiences of abuse in the US
Congress, without naming anyone.
“My experience with domestic violence was this: Toxic mental, physical and
sexual abuse which started slow but escalated over time, including threats
against my life, severe gaslighting and brainwashing, waking up to the man
that claimed to love me raping what he believed to be my unconscious body,”
she said.