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Actress Evan Rachel Wood has disclosed in the past that she is a domestic violence survivor. On Monday, she alleged that her abuser was her musician ex-fiance Marilyn Manson.
“The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson,” the “Westworld” star wrote on Instagram, claiming that the goth icon “started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years.”
Loma Vista Recordings, which released Manson’s last two albums, has dropped the artist in light of what it calls “disturbing allegations.”
The pair began dating publicly in 2007 when Wood was 19 and Manson was 38. They were engaged in 2010, but broke up later that year.
“I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission,” Wood, now 33, wrote on Monday. “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.”
The post went viral, drawing more than 115,000 reactions on Instagram on Monday morning, and leading Manson’s name to trend on Twitter and Google.
At least three other women posted their own allegations against Manson in a show of solidarity, as reported by outlets including Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair. These women also claimed that the “Beautiful People” singer subjected them to forms of violence and intimidation, sexual assault and psychological abuse.
Representatives for Manson were not immediately available for comment.
Loma Vista Recordings announced that it will no longer promote Manson’s music or work with him on any future projects in a statement shared with MarketWatch on Monday afternoon. The label had released Manson’s last two albums.
“In light of today’s disturbing allegations by Evan Rachel Wood and other women naming Marilyn Manson as their abuser, Loma Vista will cease to further promote his current album, effective immediately,” the statement said. “Due to these concerning developments, we have also decided not to work with Marilyn Manson on any future projects.”
Wood’s allegations also led to a 2009 Spin article to recirculate on social media. In it, Manson told the publication that “I have fantasies every day about smashing her [Wood’s] skull in with a sledgehammer.” Manson also said during that interview that he called Wood 158 times in one day, and cut himself each time he called her, because, “I wanted to show her the pain she put me through.”
That interview was also brought up by a music journalist writing for Metal Hammer last year, which Manson’s U.K. rep wrote off at the time as “obviously a theatrical rock star interview promoting a new record, and not a factual account.”
“Manson has never shied away from public comment — equally he does not have to make the same comment twice,” his rep added, claiming that one of Manson’s other exes, #MeToo activist Rose McGowan, is still “friends” with him.
Wood has become an activist for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors, such as testifying before a House Judiciary Subcommittee in 2018 in an effort to get the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights passed in all 50 states.
“My experience with domestic violence was this: Toxic mental, physical and sexual abuse which started slow but escalated over time, including threats against my life, severe gaslighting and brainwashing, waking up to the man that claimed to love me raping what he believed to be my unconscious body,” she said at the time.
This is a developing story.
