Evan Rachel Wood names Marilyn Manson as her abuser, more women come forward
Evan Rachel Wood has disclosed the name of the former romantic partner who allegedly abused her for several years. In a statement posted to her Instagram Monday morning, the actress and activist named her ex-fiance Marilyn Manson as the previously unspecified partner:
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.
In the wake of Wood’s statement, Vanity Fair reports that four more women have come forward with allegations against Manson, posted to Instagram: Ashley Walters, Sarah McNeilly, Ashley Lindsay Morgan, and a woman named Gabriella described their own traumatic experiences with Manson, including allegations of physical and psychological abuse and sexual assault. All four women say they are still suffering from PTSD as a result.
Manson has yet to comment on the allegations, but an attorney for the musician denied similar accusations in 2018. In May of that year, a police report was filed accusing Manson of unspecified sex crimes that occurred in 2011. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Manson’s attorney Howard E. King said, “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.”
Wood has spoken publicly on more than one occasion about her experiences in an abusive relationship: Following the 2016 presidential election, she told Rolling Stone, “I’ve been raped. 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.” Wood elaborated on her experiences with one unnamed former partner while giving testimony to the California Senate in support of the Phoenix Act (signed into law in 2019), which extends the statute of limitations for reporting acts of domestic violence from two years to five. Wood referenced multiple instances of abuse, including one particularly violent incident:
I mustered the courage to leave several times, but he would call my house incessantly and threaten to kill himself. On one occasion, I returned to try and defuse the situation, he cornered me in our bedroom, and asked me to kneel. Then he tied me up by my hands and feet. Once I was restrained he beat me and shocked sensitive parts of my body with a torture device called a violet wand. To him it was a way for me to prove my loyalty. The pain was excruciating. It felt like I left my body and a part of me died that day.
Wood delivered additional testimony in 2018, in front of a House Judiciary Subcommittee in support of passing the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights in all 50 states. Although Wood had previously never publicly named her abuser, the allegations inevitably became the subject of speculation, with many believing Manson to be the former partner in question.