Marilyn Manson is now suing Evan Rachel Wood, her ex-girlfriend and actor in connection with her claims that he raped her and abused her during their relationship. This happened less than two weeks before Wood will star in an HBO documentary.
Manson, whose real identity is Brian Warner filed a defamation lawsuit against Wood and another woman at Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday. They are accused of having “secretly recruited and coordinated with potential accusers” and that they had “pressured them to do so.” Ashley Gore was also named in the lawsuit, as she worked with Wood to push for legislation for victims of abuse.
NBC News asked for comments immediately from Wood and Gore.
Wood and Gore are accused of inflicting emotional distress by his suit. Gore was accused of defamation and impersonation via the internet, as well as violating the Comprehensive Computer Data and Access Fraud Act.
Wood stated before the House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing about sexual abuse in 2018 that she was raped twice, once by her abusive partner and again by a man hiding in a bar’s storage closet. She didn’t name her alleged abusers at the time.
Wood, however, accused Manson of “grooming” her as a teenager and then horrifically abusing her for years in an Instagram post last January.
In an Instagram post in February, Manson addressed Wood’s allegations, saying that his art and life have “long been magnets for controversy”, but that these claims are “horrible distortions of reality.”
He said, “My intimate relationships with like-minded people have always been completely consensual.” “No matter how or why others choose to misrepresent the history, the truth is that it doesn’t matter what they do.
Manson claims that Wood and Gore conspired with her for months before she was appointed to her position to coordinate allegations in a documentary called “Phoenix Rising,” due to be released on HBO on March 15.
The lawsuit stated that “that same day, several other women assisted and coordinated Wood and/or Gore sought media attention with remarkably comparable public abuse allegations against Warner.” “These claims, similar to Wood’s, are false.”
Manson was not charged with any crime related to Wood’s allegations.
Howard King, Manson’s lawyer, claimed in a statement that the women created a fake letter impersonating an FBI agent. He claimed that they were investigating Manson. Wood and Gore were accused of using the letter as a recruiting tool to get other women to make allegations and convince HBO to publish their documentary.
The alleged letter was attached to the lawsuit and has been seen on NBC News. The letter does not include an FBI logo. It states that Wood is a key witness to a criminal investigation involving “well-known public figures”, but does not mention Manson. Although the copy of this letter has been redacted, it seems to have been signed by someone from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The FBI and the District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond when asked for comment about the letter or an investigation into Manson.
King stated that HBO and its producers were made aware of the serious misconduct but they chose to ignore the facts. “But, the evidence of wrongdoing committed by Wood and Gore are irrefutable — this legal action will hold them accountable.”
HBO declined to comment to NBC News on the filing.
Gore is also accused of contacting potential women with the claim that she was working with Wood in domestic abuse advocacy. She claimed that she was organizing a meeting of women who may have experienced similar situations. According to the lawsuit, she then sent the women a “checklist of abusive acts” in order to make sure that all allegations were coordinated.
Manson also claimed that Gore hacked his email and social media accounts in order to access personal information and private conversations. She allegedly slandered him to the women with whom she spoke to to “orchestrate, amplify false allegations against Warner” and support Wood’s claim that Warner was her (and other’s) abuser.
Manson’s house was searched by police and “media storage devices” were taken in November by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department as part of an investigation into domestic abuse and assault allegations, NBC Los Angeles reported at that time. Both the sheriff’s office and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office didn’t immediately respond to queries about the status.
Last year, a lawsuit was filed by Manson by an anonymous woman. It was dismissed after it was found that the statute of limitations had expired. Three other women are still suing Manson.
Esme bianco, actor in “Game of Thrones”, filed a lawsuit against Manson in April. He claimed he had committed numerous violent sexual assaults and other abuses between 2009 and 2013.
His then-assistant Ashley Walters alleged that the goth singer was subject to sexual exploitation and psychological abuse. Walters was ordered by a judge to amend her last week filing in response to Manson’s request to dismiss the case on the basis of statute of limitations.
In June, Ashley Morgan Smithline, a model , sued Manson for sexual assault and sexual battery, as well as human trafficking.
Manson has denied all sexual assault allegations against him.
