Judge Strikes Down Marilyn Manson's Defamation Claims in Evan Rachel Wood Case
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The rocker filed the defamation suit in March 2022, which accused the actress of coercing other women into making allegations against him
The court has sided with Evan Rachel Wood in an ongoing defamation case, brought on by her alleged abuser and ex Marilyn Manson.
On Tuesday, a Los Angeles judge struck down 10 claims made by the "Sweet Dreams" singer — who accused the actress of manufacturing a conspiracy to portray him as an abuser — in a defamation lawsuit, according to Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter.
Judge Teresa Beaudet also declared Wood and girlfriend Illma Gore's comments about Groupie, his 1996 short film, as "protected activity" under California law. (They previously claimed that Groupie features an underage individual, which Manson denied.)
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Manson's attorney Howard King called the ruling "disappointing but not unexpected."
"The Court telegraphed this outcome when it refused to consider the bombshell sworn declaration of former plaintiff Ashley Smithline," he added, referring to an affidavit he had submitted to the court in which Smithline walked back on her allegations against Manson (born Brian Warner) and claimed that she was pressured by Wood, 34, and Gore.
"The failure to admit this critical evidence, along with the court's decision to not consider Ms. Gore's iPad, the contents of which demonstrated how she and Ms. Wood crafted a forged FBI letter, will be the subject of an immediate appeal to the California Court of Appeal," he concluded.
"We are very pleased with the Court's ruling, which affirms and protects Evan's exercise of her fundamental First Amendment rights," Michael Kump, attorney for Evan Rachel Wood, told PEOPLE in a statement. "As the Court correctly found, Plaintiff failed to show that his claims against her have even minimal merit."
Beaudet set a tentative trial date for May 1, 2024, on Manson's remaining claims against Wood and Gore, for hacking and wrongful impersonation.
Manson, 54, filed the defamation suit against Wood and Gore in March 2022, alleging that the pair conspired to coerce other women into making allegations against him. He also accused them of impersonating FBI agents to further coerce the women by making them believe their families were in danger.
Manson alleged in the complaint that the Westworld actress and Gore have "publicly cast [him] as a rapist and abuser — a malicious falsehood that has derailed [his] successful music, TV, and film career."
Wood is among at least 15 other women who have accused the rocker of sexual assault. Game of Thrones actress Esmé Bianco also filed a lawsuit in 2021, though it was settled in January.
Manson and Wood dated from mid-2006 until early 2011, though the actress has said that she was groomed into the relationship, and likened their romance to being under the influence of his "cult."
In February, Wood refuted his claims that she manipulated Smithline into making false accusations via screenshots and voicemails.
RELATED VIDEO: Evan Rachel Wood Says Marilyn Manson 'Essentially Raped' Her in 2007 Music Video: 'I Was Coerced'
"I never pressured or manipulated Ashley Morgan Smithline to make any accusations against [Manson], and I certainly never pressured or manipulated her to make accusations that were not true," wrote Wood. "It was Ms. Smithline who first contacted me in March 2019."
Meanwhile, part one of the two-part Phoenix Rising premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and in it, Wood recalled being groomed into a tumultuous relationship with Manson, and said his "first crime" against her was an on-camera rape while filming the "Heart-Shaped Glasses" music video when she was 19.
"It's nothing like I thought it was going to be," Wood said about the music video. "We're doing things that were not what was pitched to me. ... We had discussed a simulated sex scene, but once the cameras were rolling, he started penetrating me for real. I had never agreed to that. I'm a professional actress, I've been doing this my whole life; I've never been on a set that unprofessional in my life up until this day."
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