Marilyn Manson Defends Gun Stunt as ‘An Act of Theater’

Marilyn Manson has continued to stand pointing a toy rifle at an audience in San Bernardino, where a mass shooting took place two years ago. Manson called the stunt an “act of theater.”

Video obtained by TMZ early Monday shows Manson pointing a toy rifle at the audience at the Glen Helen Amphitheater during a show Sunday night while performing “We Know Where You F***ing Live.” Manson was in a wheelchar, since he broke his leg during an on-stage accident in September.

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Manson later said the stunt was meant to be a comment on the frequency of mass shootings in the U.S. Hours before his performance, 26 people were killed at a church in Texas.

“In an era where mass shootings have become a nearly daily occurrence this was an act of theater in an attempt to make a statement about how easily accessible semi-automatic weapons are and how seeing them has become normalized,” Mason said in a statement to Rolling Stone.

“My performance was not meant to be disrespectful or show any insensitivity,” Manson added. “The prop microphone I used on stage was handed to me with the approval of a police officer.”

The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department told TMZ they did not approve or disapprove of the stunt. Mason did tell them, so deputies at the event were not surprised.

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Fourteen people were killed and 24 others injured at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino on Dec. 2, 2015.