Marilyn Manson has dropped his defamation lawsuit against his ex-fiancée Evan Rachel Wood and her associate Ilma Gore. The multi-platinum shock rocker first filed that suit against the pair back in March of 2022. In his original suit, he accused the pair of orchestrating a group of women in coming forward with allegations of sexual assault/sexual misconduct against him.
After Wood publicly named Manson as her abuser in a 2021 statement, over a dozen women followed suit with allegations of a similar nature against Manson. As a result, Manson‘s career was put on hold, with his manager, label, talent agent, and more all severing ties with him.
Manson for his part denied the allegations, several of which resulted in civil lawsuits. A summary of those included:
- Manson reaching a settlement with Esmé Bianco in January of 2023 after the latter filed suit against him for sexual assault, etc.
- Ashley Morgan Smithline recanting and dismissing her sexual assault lawsuit against Manson in February of 2023
- Manson reaching a settlement in September of 2023 with a woman who accused him of sexual assault
- A tentative June 2025 trial date set for a sexual assault lawsuit filed against Manson by his ex-personal assistant Ashley Walters
- Bianca Allaine Kyne filing suit against Manson over claims she was sexually assaulted by him in the mid to late 1990s
In his aforementioned defamation suit, Manson also claimed that the Wood and Gore went so far as to impersonate an FBI officer. He also alleged the pair gained unlawful access to some of his email, etc. accounts. By February of 2024, a judge had gutted much of Manson‘s defamation suit, putting him on the hook for $496,364 of Wood‘s legal fees.
This past August saw Manson file an appeal to reinstate some of those dropped claims. Among the claims from his defamation suit that were headed to trial were his allegations of Wood and Gore impersonating him on the internet, gaining unauthorized access to his electronic accounts and computer, and that they were behind a ‘swatting’ phone call that sent authorities to Manson‘s residence.
Now it has been announced that Manson has dismissed his suit against Wood & Gore. Rolling Stone report that Manson had attempted to settle the suit confidentially out of court in exchange for him paying a portion of her legal fees, Wood however rejected his offer. In turn, Manson has now opted to drop his suit and has agreed to pay Wood‘s legal fees on the matter.
A representative for Wood commented on this outcome:
“Marilyn Manson — whose real name is Brian Warner — filed a lawsuit against Ms. Wood as a publicity stunt to try to undermine the credibility of his many accusers and revive his faltering career. But his attempt to silence and intimidate Ms. Wood failed. As the trial court correctly found, Warner’s claims were meritless. Warner’s decision to finally abandon his lawsuit and pay Ms. Wood her full fee award of almost $327,000 only confirms as much.”
Manson‘s attorney, Howard King, told Rolling Stone:
“After four years of fighting a battle where he was able to tell the truth, Brian is pleased to dismiss his still-pending claims and appeal in order to close the door on this chapter of his life.”
Outside of the legal complications mentioned above, Manson has been facing a revived civil lawsuit regarding a 2019 live concert spitting incident. In September of 2023, Manson entered a plea deal in regards to the aforementioned concert incident, entering a no contest plea to a misdemeanor simple assault charge. He was sentenced to 20 hours of community service and a $1,400 fine.
Meanwhile, last month, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Sex Crimes Division announced they have been “reviewing new leads and additional evidence” regarding the sexual assault allegations made against Marilyn Manson. In an October 09th statement, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón, stated:
“The LADA’s Sex Crimes Division is currently reviewing a case involving Brian Warner, aka Marilyn Manson
Experienced prosecutors from our office’s Sex Crimes Division are carefully reviewing new leads and additional evidence that continue to come to our attention from the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s investigation. New evidence has emerged within the last few weeks, adding to an already extensive case file presented to our office by the LASD.
It is our office’s responsibility to ensure that we have a complete picture of the admissible evidence available before making a filing decision. Senior staff members have met with victims, and our prosecutors continue to remain in contact with the victims and their representatives throughout this process. We are committed to making sure they are treated with dignity and respect.
I have received requests from victims to meet personally to discuss the case, however, as the case is being investigated it would be inappropriate for me, as District Attorney, to meet with victims during this time. We anticipate making a filing decision soon and will provide an update when that time comes. At that time, I look forward to meeting with the victims to discuss how my office can continue to support them.”
Manson himself relaunched his musical career this year, returning to the road with a reconfigured band lineup and touring throughout the summer alongside Five Finger Death Punch & Slaughter To Prevail. His twelfth studio album, “One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1“, was released this past Friday, November 22nd.
