Evan Rachel Wood is sharing allegations of abuse and grooming against her ex-fiance Marilyn Manson. She wrote on Instagram: “The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson. He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission.”
The 33-year-old is speaking out, she said, because she is “done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail,” adding, “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.”
Wood has spoken out before, without getting specific. In 2016, she told Rolling Stone that she’d been raped once by a “significant other” and later by “the owner of a bar.” In testimony before the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security in 2018, she said that she was a domestic violence and rape survivor.
After she came forward, four other women shared their stories, and she reposted their claims on IG Stories. The pair were together for three years, splitting in 2010.
Several of her celebrity friends, including Josh Gad and Selma Blair, sent her love in the comments section.
In the wake of the accusations, disturbing quotes from a Spin story have resurfaced. Manson said of his heartbreak after the relationship with Wood ending: “I wanted to show her the pain she put me through. It was like, ‘I want you to physically see what you’ve done.’ But that damage is part of it, and 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 married Lindsay Usich in October 2020.