New documentary explores horrifying Marilyn Manson claims
A chilling new documentary brings to light a number of horrifying claims about disgraced musician Marilyn Manson. Warning: Graphic
Celebrity Life
Don't miss out on the headlines from Celebrity Life. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Warning: Distressing
A string of dark controversies surrounding disgraced musician Marilyn Manson have been brought to light in a harrowing new documentary.
The three-part Channel 4 series, Marilyn Manson Unmasked, explores the now 56-year-old’s questionable relationship with fans and the disturbing allegations of abuse made by multiple women over the years. Manson has denied any wrongdoing.
The documentary has also published never before heard audio tapes from the musician.
At the height of his fame, Manson dubbed himself the ‘Antichrist Superstar’, with parents around the world fearing he was poisoning the minds of youths with his “evil” music.
At one point in time, he was even blamed by some for ‘inspiring’ the horrific 1999 Columbine High School massacre.
His ‘shock rock’ character only shot him further into infamy and he rapidly became an icon in the alternative music scene, with thousands of fans buying his records and selling out his shows around the world.
But this all came crashing down after a string of women bravely came forward to accuse Manson – whose real name is Brian Warner — of abuse in 2021.
His ex-girlfriend, Hollywood actress Evan Rachel Wood, was the first to open up about the horrifying abuse she claimed to have endured while she was with Manson since she was a teenager – even alleging he had raped her while he was filming a music video. Manson has denied these claims.
The now 37-year-old’s bravery paved the way for other women to come forward with their claims against Manson.
After the bombshell news broke, the artist was dropped by his record label, agent and manager, and he has since been the subject of several lawsuits brought forward by women claiming to have been victimised by him.
Manson has vehemently denied all allegations against him, claiming that his “intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners”.
In exclusive recordings of interviews laid bare in the documentary, he can be heard revealing to a journalist his chilling views on sex and women.
“I’m not into rape whatsoever. It’s called a struggle snuggle,” he said.
“I prefer to mentally break a woman down to the point where she has no other choice but to submit to me.”
Manson also shared his thoughts on women and how he believes they are “dangerous”.
“The most dangerous people are women, if you let them,” he said.
“Not that I’m sexist, misogynistic maybe, because I love women.
“It’s like when people say I love t*ts but I don’t like what they’re attached to. I didn’t say that, or maybe I did.
“But anyway, I love women, but I don’t like being in an unhappy situation.”
He also said he was not “into rape” because he felt that was for “lazy” people.
“I’m not into rape whatsoever,” he said.
“Rape takes all the fun out of sh*t, it’s for lazy people and cowards.”
At the time, it seemed nobody questioned anything he did or said, as many had come to accept that Marilyn Manson was simply the character, separate to who he really was at his core as Brian Warner.
However, as the documentary unveils in exploring his fall from grace, if these allegations are true, the two personas he crafted may be one in the same.
‘Underage sex’
Many women have now come forward to claim they were being abused by Manson.
Megafan Bianca Allaine claimed she was just 16 years old when the rocker took her virginity on his tour bus in 1995. His lawyer says her claims are completely false.
If true, he would have been 27 years old.
“My 16th birthday present to myself was to get tickets to see him perform live,” she revealed in the documentary.
“It was exciting because it was a small, small, venue. It was the first time I had been to a concert without my parents and I remember I positioned myself very carefully because I didn’t want to be too close to the stage because the men get violent.
“It was exciting, there was energy in the crowd. The way he moved on stage and it felt cool because my parents wouldn’t understand it, they didn’t like it.”
She explained how she was invited onto the tour bus by Manson and his entourage.
“They had parked their bus literally outside of the venue and I saw other people that were at the concert lined up, they looked young, everybody looked young,” she recalled.
“I had my school backpack with me and a piece of notebook paper. I had the whole band sign my notebook paper.
“I went on the tour bus. They asked a lot of questions, especially Brian.
“He obviously knew I was in school because he asked what grade I was in.
“He told me he would send merchandise, T-shirts and things like that if I gave him my mailing address and my phone number, and I did.”
She shared how what seemed like an innocent meet and greet soon unravelled into much more – even claiming Manson asked the teen to perform a sex act on him.
“It just seems like he was interested in talking to me and I got flattered that he was paying attention to me and I couldn’t believe it, you know?” she said.
“And, um, he kissed me. And it was a little scary and exciting, kind of.
“It’s embarrassing to say. He wanted me to perform oral sex on him. To be honest, I didn’t know what I was doing.
“He went even further and before I even knew it he was ... I mean I went on the bus as a virgin and I’m so ashamed, I have so much shame about that and I feel so stupid.
“That’s the worst part, I feel so damn stupid.”
Manson’s lawyer, Howard King, stated that Bianca’s claims are completely false and that he never met her.
In 2012, an 18-year-old Taylor Momsen – known for her role as ‘Jenny’ on Gossip Girl and as the lead singer of her band, The Pretty Reckless – shocked the world after her controversial performance with Manson on stage.
Clips show Manson, then 43, appearing to put her in a chokehold and grab her breasts, before pushing her down to her knees and singing while her head was in his crotch.
She later claimed the entire interaction was consensual.
Later in the documentary, Evan Rachel Wood says she was just 18 when she met Manson at a Hollywood event while he was still married to burlesque artist Dita Von Teese.
“At that point I did not think that anything romantic could happen with us,” she explained.
“I saw him as this well-established, much older man who was married to Dita Von Teese, a beautifully established burlesque model.
“Later on as we grew more close he was alluding to maybe some things weren’t that great in his marriage.
“He was presenting himself as this lonely guy who maybe had lost sight of who he was a bit, who’d been in a slump, he was a bit uninspired.
“But after meeting me he was inspired again, he wants to write, make art. So that felt good.”
The couple made their relationship public in 2007 after Manson’s divorce from Von Teese.
“I really thought this was something special, that he really loved me, and I was really safe, and I was really lucky,” she continued.
“I think the more and more we talked, the onion started to peel as to what he believed Marilyn Manson was.
“He did take on this saintly quality in my mind, he is trying to deliver a message that is actually going to move things forward and wake people up.
“I was like wow this is so much bigger than me, this artist is so important and their art is so important for the world.
“I will just do anything it takes to facilitate that and make sure that they can be the best version of themselves no matter what that meant for me and my life.”
Music video horror
Manson wrote the song Heart-Shaped Glasses for Evan, with the tune referencing the sunglasses worn by actress Sue Lyon on the movie poster for the film version of the book.
“Because of our relationship and the way it was inspiring him, we were watching stuff like Bonnie and Clyde, this love story that was shrouded in violence,” Wood said.
“And that started to devolve into treatment for the music video for Heart-Shaped Glasses.
“The way it was pitched to me is that there is going to be a sex scene but it is going to be shot so the camera is rolling and moving so whatever you see would sort of be a blur, a quick flash, or it is going to be so dark.”
However Wood claimed that things quickly escalated into a very scary situation. Manson denies this.
“Brian always had a glass of absinthe in his hand, the red absinthe,” she recalled.
“And we always drank it together and this was another day, it was no exception and I was just drinking a lot.
“I remember everything escalated so fast. And I felt like I was in a dream state, he literally started devouring my face.
“It was just so aggressive and he just started pulling my clothes off.”
The former video commissioner for Interscope Records, Randy Sosin, said everyone who was on set that day had “assumed it was consensual”.
“I think we all thought what is happening? Are they actually having sex? But I certainly wasn’t going to ask,” Sosin revealed.
“I’m assuming it’s consensual, I’m assuming that these two people are dating and they are doing something that they want to be controversial about.
“They were under covers but it certainly looked to everyone on set like they were having sex.”
Wood said the terrifying experience made her feel “violated”.
“I remember putting my hands out to cover myself and him grabbing my hands and peeling them away from my body,” Wood claimed.
“And saying like, ‘It’s okay, nobody can see, it’s dark, nobody is going to be able to see you’. I just did not know what to do and from there it just didn’t stop.
“They yelled cut. The next thing I knew the entire crew had just walked off set.
“And I was just kind of sitting on the bed naked just crying. I felt so f**king violated. But I didn’t call it rape for like many many years.”
Manson’s lawyer denied Evan’s claims.
“It is demonstrably false that Brian raped Rachel Evan Wood while filming a music video,” he said.
“This was filmed in a studio, there were more than 10 people within three feet of the bed. Brian had clothes on, although I suppose that wouldn’t prevent this.
“None of those people have come forward and said they witnessed this act. It is completely fabricated and there is not a witness who will support it.”
Producer Sosin, who was present at the time, said that although he never imagined she was being raped at the time, he believes her claims.
“I do believe her. I didn’t know it was against her will,” he said.
“I didn’t know that she felt raped. None of that came up. It is so complicated, I’m not expunging myself from anything.
“I thought these were two consenting adults doing what they do as a couple.”
Wood said the alleged music video incident marked a huge turning point in their relationship, and she began to “see the depravity” in Manson.
The couple split a year later in 2010.
She bravely went public with her claims and named Manson as her abuser in an Instagram post in 2021.
After this, several other women also made claims against the musician.
“The reason I came forward is because I don’t want this to happen to anybody else,” she said
“And I thought how can I get him to stop. How can I get him to stop?”
Shocking claims
Many women from different walks of life have come forward with allegations against Manson over the last few years.
Ellie Rowsell, from the British band Wolf Alice, claimed he filmed up her skirt with a GoPro camera at a festival.
Game of Thrones star Esme Bianco brought a lawsuit against Manson which accused him of “violent sexual acts” and “making threats of force”.
She claimed she had been sexually battered by Manson, specifically by him “spanking, biting, cutting, and whipping her buttocks, breasts, and genitals for his sexual gratification – all without consent.”
The case was settled out of court.
His former assistant Ashley Walters accused him of forcing her hand into his underwear, whipping her, pushing her into a wall, forcing her to stay awake for 48 hours straight and even offering her up sexually to friends and associates.
Model Ashley Morgan Smithline claimed he had raped her and locked her in a soundproofed room, but she later retracted her allegations.
Another anonymous ex-girlfriend, only known as Jane Doe, filed a lawsuit claiming Manson subjected her to sexual exploitation, manipulation and psychological abuse.
Manson settled the case out of court.
Others have claimed Manson would “force female fans to strip” and would “rate their bodies” in a sick sex game, with one Scottish woman claiming she was just 19 when Manson touched her breast on his tour bus, according to NME.
Dropped by record company
After these disturbing claims came to light, journalists decided to investigate Manson’s behaviour, interviewing both his supporters and women who claimed he had abused them.
“Certain statements he’d made in the past when it comes to treatment of women and misogyny, a lot of us, myself included, understood that as typical rock star behaviour,” Rolling Stone’s Jason Newman said.
“But after the allegations came out we decided that now it’s actually time to start an investigation. We wanted to solve that puzzle.
“What is a blustery rock star persona and what is hiding in plain sight?”
Eventually in November 2021 the magazine published an article titled Marilyn Manson The Monster Hiding in Plain Sight.
By this time, four sexual assault lawsuits had been filed against him by Ashley Walters, Esme Bianco, Ashley Morgan Smithline and an anonymous ex-partner.
In January 2023, Bianca Allaine filed her case against the rocker, but Manson’s lawyer said his client had never even met Bianca.
In November 2024, Manson dropped a defamation suit he brought against Evan Rachel Wood over her accusations against him and agreed to pay her legal fees.
“In the court of public opinion, Mr Warner’s reputation has been assailed and excoriated based on the unchallenged claims and actions of Ms Wood,” Manson’s lawyer said in a statement.
“Not one of the cases filed in the judicial system has resulted in a finding of any liability by Mr Warner, and most are no longer active.
“More than two years after Ms Wood publicly named Mr Warner as her abuser, there has not been a single criminal charge against Mr Warner in connection with her or any of the other accusers’ claims.”
Originally published as New documentary explores horrifying Marilyn Manson claims
Iconic Disney child star tragically dies
One of the most iconic Disney actors who starred in Return From Witch Mountain & I Wanna Hold Your Hand has died.
Why star hated ‘ingenue’ roles
Ahead of the new season of Severance, Patricia Arquette reflects on why she is playing ‘this shadow side of a lot of women that you don’t get to explore when you’re younger’.