In the wake of the numerous allegations of sexual assault and misconduct leveled against Marilyn Manson in the pandemic years, the shock rock icon has remained particularly divisive since returning to the stage last year.
Those disturbing allegations and accusations were made by roughly a dozen women several years ago now, and were largely centered around incidents claimed to have taken place years prior. However, even with the apparent abundance of claims, authorities decided to not pursue criminal charges against the 56-year-old musician/actor earlier this year.
A statement issued this past January by the office of Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman revealed that following a four-year investigation into those claims, his office ultimately decided not to pursue the matter. Issues with the statute of limitations and an apparent lack of prosecutable evidence were cited as the reasons behind that decision. Hochman‘s office said in part regarding that at the start of this year:
“Nathan J. Hochman announced today that experienced prosecutors from the Sex Crimes Division of the District Attorney’s Office, along with detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, completed a comprehensive four-year investigation into allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault made against Brian Warner, aka Marilyn Manson. We have determined that allegations of domestic violence fall outside of the statute of limitations, and we cannot prove charges of sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt.”
That of course hasn’t been the extent of the legal troubles Manson has faced over the past half a decade or so. Outside of being sentenced for a concert spitting incident, Manson has been the target of a handful of civil lawsuits filed by some of his aforementioned accusers. The abberviated rundown for those matters include:
- Manson reached a settlement with Esmé Bianco in January of 2023 after the latter filed suit against him for sexual assault, etc..
- Ashley Morgan Smithline recanted and dismissing her sexual assault lawsuit against Manson in February of 2023.
- Manson reached a settlement in September of 2023 with a woman who accused him of sexual assault.
- A sexual assault lawsuit filed against Manson by his ex-personal assistant Ashley Walters remains in play.
- Bianca Allaine Kyne filed suit against Manson over claims she was sexually assaulted by him in the mid to late 1990s.
The aforementioned legal floodgates targeting Manson followed this February 2021 statement issued by his ex-fiancée Evan Rachel Wood, in which she claimed to have endured ‘horrific abuse’ at the hands of Manson during their relationship roughly a decade prior.
Manson went on to deny the various claims made against him by his accusers, going on to file a defamation lawsuit against Wood and her associate. In that suit, he claimed Wood and her associate Ilma Gore had been coaching multiple women to come forward against him with allegations of a similar nature.
However, after facing numerous legal setbacks with that suit, Manson dropped his complaint last November. While Manson has weathered numerous controversies over the years, including being scapegoated for the Columbine shootings, the repercussions of the various allegations and lawsuits mentioned above have continued to impede his ongoing attempt at a comeback.
Manson relaunched his musical career in the summer of 2024 with a slate of high-profile touring and a new album. That return followed a several year absence as the impact of the above-mentioned allegations made against him saw him dropped by his label, manager and talent agent.
Manson most recently saw the upcoming opening date of his UK run this fall cancelled due to pressure from local politicians and activists, citing the allegations mentioned above. Local pushback has also begun mounting for another date of that tour.
Manson‘s return to Mexico last Sunday, August 10th, created a similar stir. His free performance at the Teatro del Pueblo in the city of San Luis Potosí, Mexico as part of an annual state fair drew criticism and protest from local religious and conservative groups.
Said groups apparently rallied against Manson being involved due to the family-friendly nature of the fair and Manson‘s sordid reputation. Outside of the allegations listed above, Manson has made a career on pushing the limits be it blasphemous musical content and imagery, or various indecent exploits that don’t exactly align with traditional Christian ideals.
However, as Billboard report, Ricardo Gallardo Cardona, Governor of the state of San Luis Potosi, stood behind the decision to book Manson, citing it as a “defense of freedom of expression.” He further characterized it as an attempt to push back against the “conservative mindsets” that have demonized hard rock in the country for years. Cardona was further quoted as saying:
“There will always be opposing voices, and Marilyn Manson has faced them not just in Mexico but in other parts of the world too. But if he’s already performed in Rome, the cradle of Catholicism, why couldn’t he perform in San Luis Potosi? This isn’t about religion; it’s about cultural justice, about creating unity, and we must do it through music.”
Billboard report that while the show ultimately went off without a hitch, seemingly drawing hundreds of thousands of attendees. There were at least some flareups in relation to the concert. A conservative association identified as the National Union of Parents collected roughly 6,000 signatures calling for the set to be canceled ahead of time.
Meanwhile, apparent supporters of Manson reportedly left a severed cows head in front of a local cathedral ahead of the concert (see below for a local news report on the matter) — presumably in response to the protests of the show mounted by a noted group of individuals of Catholic faith.
Manson for his part doesn’t appear to have directly responded to this latest controversy, but has shared footage from the set on his social media. He is scheduled to return to Mexico on December 06th to co-headline this year’s ‘Knotfest Mexico‘ alongside Falling In Reverse in Monterrey, Mexico.
With Seven Hours After Violet:
09/16 Cleveland, OH – House Of Blues
09/18 Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life
09/20 Pittsburgh, PA – Roxian Theatre
09/22 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
09/23 Kansas City, MO – The Midland Theatre
09/25 Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium
09/27 Albuquerque, NM – Revel
09/30 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues
10/01 San Diego, CA – SOMA
10/03 Las Vegas, NV – Pearl Theater
10/05 Sacramento, CA – Aftershock Festival
Marilyn Manson:
10/31 Bournemouth, UK – Windsor Hall
11/01 Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
11/02 Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena
11/04 Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo
11/07 London, UK – OVO Arena Wembley
11/09 Nantes, FRA – Zénith
11/11 Paris, FRA – Zénith
11/13 Antwerp, BEL – Lotto Arena
11/14 Dusseldorf, GER – Mitsubishi Electric Halle
11/15 Prague, CZE – Fortuna Sports Hall
11/17 Berlin, GER – Max-Schmeling-Halle
11/19 Warsaw, POL – Torwar
11/20 Leipzig, GER – Quarterback Immobilien Arena
11/22 Bern, SWI – Festhalle Bern
11/23 Grenoble, FRA – Le Summum
11/25 Bergamo, ITA – Chorus Life Arena
11/27 Barcelona, SPA – Palau Olimpic de Badalona
11/28 Madrid, SPA – Palacio Vistalegre
11/30 Lisbon, POR – Sagres Campo Pequeno
12/06 Monterrey, MEX – Knotfest Mexico
