Marilyn Manson settles the Esme Bianco sexual assault lawsuit
It has been reported that Marilyn Manson – real name Brian Warner – has settled the sexual assault lawsuit brought against him by Game of Thrones actor Esme Bianco.
Bianco’s lawyer, Jay Ellwanger, told Rolling Stone: “Ms. Bianco has agreed to resolve her claims against Brian Warner and Marilyn Manson Records, Inc. in order to move on with her life and career”. Despite this new development, the terms of the agreement haven’t been disclosed.
“Ms. Bianco has agreed to resolve her claims against Brian Warner and Marilyn Manson Records, Inc,” Manson’s attorney, Howard King, also explained to the publication.
Bianco filed her lawsuit against the shock rocker and his label in 2021. She accused him of rape, sexual battery and human trafficking. In her file, Bianco cited a 2011 incident where she asserted that the musician “used drugs, force, and threats of force to coerce sexual acts” from her. She then claimed the abuse included biting, cutting, whipping and spanking without consent.
The British actor also maintained that Manson made his presence known to her by appearing to aid her in obtaining a US visa. In the beginning, he allegedly promised her work in a film and music video that never came to fruition. “Mr. Warner was able to control Ms. Bianco by threatening to withdraw support if she displeased him,” her file continued. She then accused him of forcing her to work for free and locking her in a bedroom. If true, this would have constituted a violation of California’s trafficking laws.
In February 2021, Bianco was one of the first of over a dozen women to go public with her sexual assault allegations against Manson. More notably, his ex-partner, the actor Evan Rachel Wood, made a string of high-profile accusations against him, which were then explored in the two-part HBO documentary Phoenix Rising.
Wood’s claims involved being groomed since she was a teenager, with her saying he “horrifically abused me for years”. Elsewhere, the model Ashley Morgan Smithline described Manson as the “most terrifying monster in the world”.
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