Marilyn Manson settles federal sexual assault lawsuit with Esmé Bianco

Marilyn Manson has settled a federal lawsuit filed against him and his business, Marilyn Manson Records, Inc., in 2021 by actor Esmé Bianco, Rolling Stone reports. In the filing, Bianco had accused Manson—under his birth name, Brian Warner—of sexual assault and sexual battery, also alleging he had violated California human trafficking laws.

Per RS, Manson and Bianco reached a settlement out of court, the exact terms of which are not known. In a statement shared with The A.V. Club, Bianco’s attorney confirmed that she “has agreed to resolve her claims against Brian Warner and Marilyn Manson Records, Inc. in order to move on with her life and career.” The A.V. Club has reached out to Warner’s attorney for comment.

Bianco first spoke publicly about her allegations against Warner in 2021, shortly after Warner’s former partner Evan Rachel Wood publicly identified him as her abuser as part of the documentary Phoenix Rising. Wood had first recounted experiencing domestic violence—without disclosing names—during testimony on behalf of the Phoenix Act, a bill she and Bianco co-created that expands the time frame within which survivors can press charges against abusers.

Bianco was one of multiple women to come forward in the days after Wood named Manson with similar allegations of their own, including Ashley Walters, Ashley Morgan Smithline, Sarah McNeilly, and a woman named Gabriella who did not disclose her surname. Since then, the number has risen to over a dozen.

The settlement between Bianco and Manson arrives just a few weeks after a different set of charges against Manson, filed by Smithline, were dismissed without prejudice. Like Bianco, Smithline had accused Manson of sexual assault and sexual battery—she had also alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress, unlawful imprisonment, and more.

Manson remains engaged in a defamation lawsuit against his former partner, the actor Evan Rachel Wood, in response to her statements publicly naming Manson. During a March 2022 appearance on The View, Wood said that she was “not scared” to face Warner in court.

“I am very confident that I have the truth on my side and that the truth will come out,” she shared.