Evan Rachel Wood responds to Marilyn Manson lawsuit: 'I have the truth on my side'
If Marilyn Manson intended for his defamation lawsuit to intimidate Evan Rachel Wood, he underestimated her.
The Westworld actress appeared on The View on Monday to discuss her new documentary Phoenix Rising, which chronicles her time dating Manson (whose real name is Brian Warner), the alleged abuse she suffered at his hands, her suicide attempt, and her decision to name him publicly as her abuser.
Wood also addressed the shock rocker's recent legal complaint against her and artist Illma Gore, which accuses them of concocting an elaborate "conspiracy" to cast him as "a rapist and abuser," thereby derailing his "successful music, TV, and film career."
"I can't, obviously, speak about any of the specific allegations of the lawsuit, but I am not scared," Wood said on The View. "I am sad, because this is how it works, this is what pretty much every survivor that tries to expose someone in a position of power goes through, and this is part of the retaliation that keeps survivors quiet. This is why people don't want to come forward, because this is — this was expected."
She continued: "I am very confident that I have the truth on my side and that the truth will come out, and that this is clearly timed before the documentary. This is the reason. So yes, again, I'm not doing this to clear my name, I'm doing this to protect people. I'm doing this to sound the alarm that there's a dangerous person out there and I don't want anybody getting near him. And so people can think whatever they want about me, I have to let the legal process run its course. And I'm steady as a rock."
A representative for Manson said in a statement to EW on Monday, "As we have stated from the beginning, Mr. Warner vehemently denies any and all claims of sexual assault or abuse of anyone."
Manson's attorney Howard King also said in a statement, "As we detailed in our lawsuit, nothing that Evan Rachel Wood, Illma Gore or their hand-picked co-conspirators have said on this matter can be trusted. This is just more of the same."
Wood and Manson were in a relationship from 2006 to 2010, and the two were engaged at one point. In an Instagram post in February 2021, Wood named Manson as the abuser whom she'd alluded to but not identified in past interviews and conversations. "He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years," she wrote. "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."
Wood is one of several women who have accused Manson of domestic abuse and sexual assault. Manson has consistently denied such allegations.
George Pimentel/Getty Images Evan Rachel Wood
On The View, Wood elaborated on her remarks from last year, saying Manson damaged her sense of self. "The acts of violence that he committed against me and a number of other victims — men and women — are absolutely horrific, but the most insidious thing that he did and that people like him do is they completely fracture your sense of self," she said. "He made me forget who I was, and it's taken me years to remember. And it's taken me years to get back to myself and to even understand what had happened to me, because I really thought I was the only one. And I didn't find out until much later that not only was I not the only one, but that there was a pattern to his abuse. And that means it's calculated, and that means he is not going to stop until he is stopped."
She also discussed the #MeToo movement and how it inspired her to speak up, and opened about her suicide attempt at 22, which she said was driven by Manson's abuse.
"When somebody aids in the destruction of your self and you forget who you are, you feel pretty broken and pretty empty," Wood said. "And honestly, the suicide attempt is another form of escape. When you don't feel like you're going to get out of this hole, there's no way to leave, there's no way to go, that is one way of leaving. And it did not work, and that was the turning point, because it made me think, 'Well I guess there's a reason why I'm here. And 'I'm at the bottom so there's no way to go but up.' And I always cite it as the best 'worst thing' that ever happened to me, because it was when the phoenix rose from the ashes. It was the beginning."
The first part of Phoenix Rising premieres Tuesday on HBO, with the second part airing Wednesday. Watch Wood's appearance on The View above.
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