Marilyn Manson Files Defamation and Fraud Lawsuit Against Evan Rachel Wood
Written by SOURCE on March 3, 2022
Marilyn Manson is suing his former fiancée Rachel Evan Wood over alleged falsehoods that “derailed” his career. The filing comes more than a year after Wood publicly accused Manson of physical and emotional abuse, which she claimed she endured throughout their years-long relationship.
According to the complaint obtained by Deadline, Manson claims Wood conspired with her on-again, off-again romantic partner Illma Gore to falsely paint him as a rapist and sexual predator. The court documents, filed by attorney Howard King, allege Wood and Gore sought to tarnish his reputation by contacting prospective accusers, and pressuring them to make false allegations against him. Manson—legal name Brian Warner—says the defendants presented the accusers with checklists and scripts, which included “specific alleged acts of abuse that they should claim against Warner.”
Manson also claims Gore hacked his email and social media accounts, and created fake emails to impersonate him and his lawyer. He says the duo even went so far as to pose as an FBI agent in an effort to make his accusers believe their families were in danger.
Per the suit:
They impersonated an actual agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation by forging and distributing a fictitious letter from the agent, to create the false appearance that Warner’s alleged “victims” and their families were in danger, and that there was a federal criminal investigation of Warner ongoing (Attachment A);
They provided checklists and scripts to prospective accusers, listing the specific alleged acts of abuse that they should claim against Warner (Attachments B and C); and
They made knowingly false statements to prospective accusers (which have since been repeated by those accusers in court filings), including the defamatory claim that Warner filmed the sexual assault of a minor.
Wood, who dated Manson between 2007-2010, was among several woman who accused the shock-rocker of sexual misconduct in 2021. The Westworld actress released a lengthy statement in which she detailed the alleged abuse she endured throughout her relationship with Manson.
“He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years.” Wood wrote. “I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins more lives.”
Following the allegations, Manson lost his recurring role on the Starz series American Gods, and was also dropped by his record label and longtime manager Tony Ciulla.
Manson’s suit includes claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, violation of the Comprehensive Computer Data and Access Fraud Act, and impersonation over the internet. He is seeking unspecified punitive damages.
“We’re filing this now because we have been able to gather an overwhelming trove of evidence – including both documents and witness statements – which proves that the stories that Evan Rachel Wood and her co-conspirator Illma Gore have been falsifying and spreading are both vindictive and demonstrably untrue,” attorney King told Deadline. “It’s incredibly important to differentiate between the character of ‘Marilyn Manson’ and the man Brian Warner. Wood’s claims may resonate because of the intentionally ‘shocking’ character of ‘Marilyn Manson’ but they simply do not reflect the truth. The manufactured facts these conspirators scripted a decade after the event never happened.”
