Marilyn Manson now owes nearly $500k to defendants in failed defamation case
Manson now owes Evan Rachel Wood and artist Illma Gore a total of $496,364 in legal fees after his defamation charges against them were thrown out
Brian “Marilyn Manson” Warner now owes nearly $500,000 to women he’s accused of defaming him, Rolling Stone reports. Specifically, Warner suddenly finds himself staring down a $326,956 bill to actor Evan Rachel Wood, and another $169,408 payment due to artist Illma Gore, both amounts thanks to a California anti-SLAPP statute that says that “defendants unfairly sued for exercising their rights of free speech and petition can recover their attorney’s fees and costs from the plaintiff.”
Warner sued both women for defamation back in 2022, in relation to very public allegations that he’d committed acts of domestic abuse and sexual assault. A California judge doesn’t appear to have found those accusations of defamation terribly compelling, though, having shot down Warner’s claims that things like talking to other prospective accusers, talking about their experiences in support groups, or (in Gore’s case) expressing suspicions that a film Warner made contained instances of child abuse and child pornography, qualified as defamation. Some of the charges Warner has leveled against Wood and Gore in his lawsuit do still stand, though, including accusations that they broke into his computer, impersonated him on the internet, and subjected him to a “swatting” attempt.
Wood, especially, has been vocal in her criticisms of Warner since 2021, when she came forward and named the artist, who she had a long romantic relationship with, as the abuser she’d previously mentioned in a number of stories, accusing him of a number of fairly horrific incidents of physical abuse and sexual assault. She also put out a rallying cry for other women to come forward: Ultimately, more than a dozen women did so, with allegations of abusive behavior against Warner. (Although it’s worth noting that at least one accuser eventually recanted, accusing Wood of pressuring her into making a claim—an assertion Wood refuted.)
A judge awarded Wood her portion of the anti-SLAPP payments last month; Gore’s total was handed down this week. Warner is reportedly attempting to appeal both of the payouts.