TRIGGER WARNING This article or section, or pages it links to, contains information about sexual assault and/or violence which may be triggering to survivors.
A spokesperson for rock’s enfant terrible Marilyn Manson has released a lengthy statement, carefully addressing allegations of abuse shrouding his relationship with actress Evan Rachel Wood.
On November 10th, Metal Hammer published a story detailing their recent attempted interview with Marilyn Manson. The publication set out to ask Marilyn Manson about working as an entertainer in the post #MeToo era, and if Manson was afraid of being cancelled. They also broached the subject of Evan Rachel Wood.
In February 2018, Evan Rachel Wood testified in front of Congress and delved into a sexually and physically abusive relationship she had with a romantic partner as a teenager. The testimony was delivered to push more states to adopt the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights Act.
During her admission, Evan Rachel Wood recounted “sick rituals” of her unidentified partner “binding me up by my hands and feet to be mentally and physically tortured until my abuser felt I had proven my love for them.”
The actress continued, “In this moment, while I was tied up and being beaten and told unspeakable things, I truly felt like I could die. Not just because my abuser said to me, ‘I could kill you right now,’ but because in that moment I felt like I left my body and I was too afraid to run. He would find me.”
Evan Rachel Wood has never identified Marilyn Manson as the intimate partner that inflicted the abuse. Wood and Manson started dating in 2006 — when she was 19 and he was 36.
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Rumours that Manson was the partner responsible for the abuse were sparked by an unearthed interview with Spin from 2009. When asked about his relationship with Wood, Manson responded: “The song ‘I Want to Kill You Like They Do in The Movies’ is about my fantasies. I have fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.”
Manson has previously admitted to a gruelling account of emotional abuse inflicted on a partner. Describing an incident that took place on Christmas day 2008: “Every time I called her that day—I called 158 times—I took a razor blade and I cut myself on my face or my hands.”
He continued, “I wanted to show her the pain she put me through. It was like, ‘I want you to physically see what you’ve done.”
When Metal Hammer approached the relationship between Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood, he hung up the phone. Following the interview, the publication offered Manson’s team the opportunity to do another interview, which they declined.
Instead, the team sent through 10 questions they wanted Manson to address, pertaining to Wood’s testimony, cancel culture, the #MeToo movement, and previous violent comments Manson had made.
Manson’s publicity team responded with a carefully penned statement, in which they “advised” Manson not to “comment further” on the story.
Read the statement in its entirety below:
“Personal testimony is just that, and we think it’s inappropriate to comment on that.
“You then go on to talk about Manson being accused of ‘terrible things’ by unnamed ‘critics’ but offer no guidance on who these critics are and what these things are, so it’s not possible to comment.
“You then mention Mickey Rourke. It is my understanding that Evan Rachel Wood dated multiple people around the time she was dating Manson. Basic internet research will give you a host of other names that have not come up in any of our discussions.
“Your next couple of points deal with comments Manson made in Spin magazine in 2009. Your confusion around the timeline of this is extremely worrying. The comments in Spin where Manson had a fantasy of using a sledgehammer on Evan and he cut himself 158 times was obviously a theatrical rock star interview promoting a new record, and not a factual account. The fact that Evan and Manson got engaged six months after this interview would indicate that no one took this story literally.
“You go on to talk about Manson commenting on sexual harassment, Me Too and specifically the experiences of his ex-partner Rose McGowan. These are all issues that Manson has publicly addressed and are available online. Please see Channel 4 interview from 15th December 2017.
“Manson has never shied away from public comment – equally he does not have to make the same comment twice.
“There will be no further comment on specific songs. Your journalist had the opportunity to ask Manson about his music – one of only two interviews granted in the UK – and he chose not to. Trying to weave one section of one song from an artist with a 30 plus year career to fit a narrative is both disingenuous and troublesome.
“You mention Manson’s ex-fiancée, Rose McGowan, in your questions. Rose is one of the bravest and most outspoken figureheads of the Me Too movement. Manson remains friends with McGowan and she talks very fondly of their three a half years together. There are multiple sources worldwide. I link to a Washington Post article on McGowan’s memoir ‘Brave’ (2018).
“You fail to mention Manson’s ex-wife Dita Von Teese, who remains good friends with Manson. Quoting from a Female First article published in 2018, ‘Dita admits she has been “lucky” to avoid any abusive episodes in the entertainment industry in her career’.
“There are also numerous articles over multiple years where Evan Rachel Wood speaks very positively about her relationship with Manson. In NetAPorters.com’s The Edit (2015): “I wouldn’t trade any of [our relationship],” Wood told the mag. “I appreciate everything he taught me. I just don’t think we were right for each other.”
“Finally you talk about death threats. Manson knows all about those – he has had many. He has spent his career being blamed for everything from Columbine to teenage suicide. Unfortunately, we live in a time where people believe what they read on the Internet and feel free to say what they want with no actual evidence. The effects can be catastrophic and promoting non-fact based information is wholly irresponsible. All we can try and do, as the media and individuals, is to use facts and truth and not hide behind gossip and conjecture to further our own agendas.”
Metal Hammer’s interview with Manson will be featured in issue 342 of the magazine, set for release on Thursday, November 12th.
