Evan Rachel Wood Accuses Marilyn Manson of Domestic Abuse, Grooming Her as a Teen

Evan Rachel Wood is alleging that Marilyn Manson is the person she has made reference to over the past several years when discussing her experience with domestic violence. Wood and Manson went public with their relationship in 2007, when the actress was 19 and the musician 38, and the two were briefly engaged in 2010. In an Instagram post Monday morning, Wood wrote, “The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson.”

“He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years,” she continued. “I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”

Wood first opened up about being a survivor of rape and domestic violence to Rolling Stone in 2016 and has gone on to help create and pass legislation as an activist in those areas. In 2019, Wood created the Phoenix Act to extend the statute of limitations on domestic violence to five years from three, which California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law, effective January 2020. During that process, Wood testified to the California Senate about her own experiences but did not name her alleged abuser.

Her abuser, she said, had a private drug and alcohol addiction that in part fueled bouts of “extreme jealousy” that would result in him destroying parts of their home and threatening her. “I mustered the courage to leave several times, but he would call my house incessantly and threaten to kill himself,” Wood testified. “On one occasion, I returned to try and defuse the situation, he cornered me in our bedroom and asked me to kneel. Then he tied me up by my hands and feet. Once I was restrained he beat me and shocked sensitive parts of my body with a torture device called a violet wand. To him, it was a way for me to prove my loyalty. The pain was excruciating. It felt like I left my body and a part of me died that day.”

In November 2020, Manson issued a lengthy statement denying ever abusing Wood after walking out on an interview with Metal Hammer over questions from the publication on Wood’s testimony as it aligned with their relationship timeline.