Evan Rachel Wood discusses Marilyn Manson abuse allegations on podcast
American actor Evan Rachel Wood has discussed the abuse allegations she made against her former partner Brian Warner, better known as rock singer Marilyn Manson.
In 2021, Wood released a public statement which read: “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. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail.”
She continued: “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.”
Now, during an appearance on the Navigating Narcissism podcast, Wood has explained her reasoning for making the public allegations. She told host Dr Ramani: “When I realised what a physical impact it was having on me, that was a breaking point, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to stay quiet. I realised my silence was keeping me really sick.”
Wood then likened the experience of being in a relationship with Warner to a “death sentence”, explaining: “There was a moment where I was like, ‘I’m so afraid of this person, I’ve been threatened so many times, either with blackmail or with force and if I stay here because I’m too scared to leave, I feel like I’m dead anyway’. Staying felt like a death sentence, leaving also felt terrifying because something could happen to me or he could come after me. I felt like either way I feel dead so I may as well try to escape.”
The actor then claimed Warner would “isolate” her from friends and said he’d regularly dish out a “non-stop onslaught of words” while they made their way through “a mound of cocaine”. Wood alleges this includes “telling you everything that was wrong with the world and the people around you, everything you were doing wrong, all the ways you were failing him and failing yourself, the suspicions he had towards you, he would start wrecking the house.”
Wood also said portraying Dolores Abernathy in the hit HBO show Westworld helped her come forward to make allegations against Warner. She claimed: “There’s a scene where my character is programmed and she can’t pull triggers of any guns, she can’t defend herself and then there’s a scene where she finally does and she overrides her programming… that scene was a big moment for me, having to act the feeling of being held back and then breaking through it.”
The legal case between Warner and Wood is currently ongoing. Earlier this year, Warner unsuccessfully attempted to make multiple defamation claims against Wood, which a court threw out. An official date for the trial has yet to be announced.
Manson denies any wrongdoing.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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