NOTE: This article contains descriptions of abuse that some might find triggering. Please read at your own discretion.
Marilyn Manson (real name: Brian Warner) has responded to Evan Rachel Wood‘s accusations of abuse in their previous relationship.
On Monday, Wood posted a message to her Instagram account, saying she was “horrifically abused.”
“The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson,” she wrote. “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.”
Wood alleged that the abuse happened during the pair’s partnership, which ended in 2010 after they got engaged. They started dating when Wood was 19 years old and Warner was 38.
Warner, now 52, took to Instagram to deny the allegations.
“Obviously my art and my life have long been magnets for controversy,” he wrote. “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,” he added.
After Wood’s accusations were made public, Warner’s record label, Loma Vista Recordings, said in a statement that it is parting ways with the musician.
“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,” read the statement. “Due to these concerning developments, we have also decided not to work with Marilyn Manson on any future projects.”
Entertainment Tonight reports that Shudder, the horror streaming platform, has pulled Warner’s upcoming episode of anthology horror series Creepshow.
At least three other women came forward with similar allegations against Warner on Monday, and Wood shared screenshots of their testimonials on her Instagram story. (One of these posts has since been deleted.)
Wood, now 33, has previously spoken out about abuse she’s faced in the past, but she’s never named her alleged abuser.
She famously spoke out about the alleged abuse — in detail, but without accusing anyone by name — to Rolling Stone in 2016. It wasn’t immediately clear if the person she was accusing is Warner.
“I’ve been raped,” she said. “By a significant other while we were together. And on a separate occasion, by the owner of a bar. … I don’t believe we live in a time where people can stay silent any longer. Not given the state our world is in with its blatant bigotry and sexism.”
A police report was filed against Warner in May 2018 for unspecified sex crimes dating back to 2011 by an undisclosed complainant, according to The Hollywood Reporter. At the time, the Los Angeles district attorney declined to pursue the case.
The allegations made to the police “were and are categorically denied” by Warner, asserted his lawyer at the time, and “any claim of sexual impropriety or imprisonment at that, or any other, time is false.”
—
If you think someone is being abused, here is some information on supporting them and additional information on safety planning.
If you think someone is abusive to their partner, here is a list of resources to help.
Comments