Marilyn Manson
Has the shock rocker finally crossed the line?
Alleged abuse against Marilyn Manson.
© Denis Makarenko / Shutterstock.com
While playing with taboos is part of his art, Marilyn Manson is now faced with genuine allegations of abuse.
"My life and my art have always been a magnet for controversy": With these words, the short statement by Marilyn Manson (52) begins on Instagram after several ex-girlfriends publicly directed serious allegations against the musician who has become known as a shock rocker.
Manson's penchant for the dark, bizarre and arguable is obvious: his stage name is derived from both the actress Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) and the murderer Charles Manson (1934-2017). The fascination for the morbid worried those around him even in his childhood: "My parents were constantly worried about me, because my IQ and my activities indicated that I was moving towards a sociopath," he said in an interview with the " Mirror".
"I didn't like myself"
Brian Hugh Warner, which is his real name, also built his fictional character on self-hatred. He told Vice in 2017: "That's why I created Marilyn Manson back then. I didn't like myself, so I became someone else. Now I have to go on with it." His fascination for Satanism, his rebellion against social standards and playing with taboos have not only earned him honorary membership in the Church of Satan, but also brought him worldwide fame as a musician. Albums like "Antichrist Superstar" (1996) or "The Golden Age of Grotesque" (2003) are among the most successful of their genre, with his band he sold over 50 million records and filled halls around the world.
Criticism and controversy are part of the concept of this career. His appearances, when he aims the barrel of a rifle at the audience shortly after a bloodbath in Texas, or the music video for "Kill4Me", in which he performs group sex with his good friend Johnny Depp (57) and two women, always cause concern for headlines. After the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, Manson had to put up with the charge that the shooters' violence was due to the consumption of his music. The claims later turned out to be baseless. It had only damaged his career for a short time, after a level-headed appearance in Michael Moore's (66) "Bowling for Columbine" he might even have found a few new fans.
Several women accuse him of psychological and physical abuse
That could turn out differently this time. This time it's not about provocation in the sense of art and certainly not about limits that have to be explored. Several women accuse Manson of psychological and physical abuse. And the first consequences have already been drawn: In the meantime, Loma Vista Recordings, the record company Mansons, announced on Twitter, to part with the musician. The "American Gods" series would also prefer to delete a scene from an episode with the artist that has not yet aired instead of showing it. And an episode of the series "Creepshow" planned with Manson is now also to be withheld.
The allegations are now mainly due to his ex-girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood (33, "Westworld") got rolling and not out of the blue. In 2016 Wood had already made public with a text in "Rolling Stone" that she had been raped several times – at that time, without naming her. Now she wrote on Instagram: "The name of the perpetrator is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson." Wood and Manson dated intermittently from 2007 to 2010. A complaint against Manson had also been filed in 2018, alleging sexual offenses from 2011.
After Wood made the name public, four more women went public, including model Sarah McNeill, who also describes on Instagram how Manson allegedly "emotionally abused, terrorized and hurt" her. The model Ashley Lindsay Morgan (26) also reports on Instagram about the deprivation of liberty and sexual abuse by the musician. His longest and perhaps best-known relationship – ex-wife Dita von Teese (48) – has not yet said anything about any of this. Manson rejects the allegations in his Instagram statement. Even if his life and his art have repeatedly triggered controversy, the current allegations are "terrible distortions of reality". His intimate relationships have always been based on full consensus with like-minded partners.