MP calls for Marilyn Manson concert to be cancelled in Brighton
Green Party MP Siân Berry has called on Brighton and Hove City Council to cancel Marilyn Manson‘s upcoming performance at the Brighton Centre.
Manson is set to perform at the council-owned venue on October 29th as part of his forthcoming UK tour, which will also include shows in Bournemouth, Cardiff, Nottingham, Manchester and London’s Wembley Arena.
In January, prosecutors in California confirmed that an investigation into Manson, real name Brian Warner, following a series of sexual assault and domestic violence allegations, had been dropped. Warner, who was never charged, strongly denied the accusations through his legal team, labelling the claims as “falsehoods”.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement when the investigation was dropped: “We cannot prove charges of sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt. We recognise and applaud the courage and resilience of the women who came forward to make reports and share their experiences.”
Now, Berry has wrote an open letter to Bella Sankey, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, outlining her concerns about the show, which she believes goes against “the city’s well-renowned values” and expressed her fears about people as young as 14 being allowed to attend the event.
Berry, who formerly led the Green Party, said: “It is clear that this proposed performance has implications that risk breaching all these policies, and we believe you have strong grounds for reconsidering this decision.”
She continued: “Many survivors in Brighton and Hove, and organisations supporting them, will have serious concerns about this booking and its wider impact on other people visiting the city centre, local residents and the wider community.”
Although Berry believes “freedom of expression is an important principle that should be defended,” she said that Manson’s concert is “an obvious risk to community cohesion and the council has separate equalities obligations to foster good relations between people who share protected characteristics and people who do not share them.”
The politician concluded: “The level and nature of the accusations against Warner are concerning enough alone, but so too is the message sent out by providing a platform for this individual, at our city’s biggest publicly owned venue, and what this will mean to survivors.”
The letter is also signed by the Survivors’ Network, Reclaim The Night Brighton & Hove, The Queery Co-Op, and University of Sussex Students’ Union.
Berry’s comments come days after Millie Earl, the leader of the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, urged promoters to cancel Manson‘s upcoming show in Bournemouth.
Earl said: “I don’t feel Marilyn Manson reflects the values we have in BCP and we’ve been doing a lot of work around things like the White Ribbon accreditation scheme which helps men and boys change negative, damaging behaviours. So I have asked that BH Live reconsider hosting Marilyn Manson later this year.”
Neither BH Live in Bournemouth or the Brighton Centre have responded to the politicians.
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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