Judge Tosses Out Bulk of Marilyn Manson’s Defamation Suit Against Evan Rachel Wood
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The post Judge Tosses Out Bulk of Marilyn Manson’s Defamation Suit Against Evan Rachel Wood appeared first on Consequence.
A California judge has tossed out most of Marilyn Manson’s defamation lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood following the actress’ claims of abuse during the one-time couple’s relationship from 2007 to 2010.
“The Court grants Wood’s special motion to strike in part,” rule Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Teresa A. Beaudet in the tentative order [via Deadline], which invoked California’s anti-SLAPP law and its protections on individual free speech.
Manson’s defamation suit from March 2022 alleged that Wood penned a fake FBI letter and a checklist for other alleged Manson abuse victims — both of which have been tossed out with the latest motion. It’s another loss for the Manson camp, which was previously not allowed to add Ashley Morgan Smithline’s about-face recantation as a new declaration to the lawsuit.
“We are very pleased with the Court’s ruling, which affirms and protects Evan’s exercise of her fundamental First Amendment rights,” Wood’s lead attorney Michael Kump told Deadline after the latest order was finalized. “As the Court correctly found, Plaintiff failed to show that his claims against her have even minimal merit.”
Meanwhile, Manson’s lawyer Howard King said the ruling was “disappointing but not unexpected” and will seek an appeal.
“The Court telegraphed this outcome when it refused to consider the bombshell sworn declaration of former plaintiff Ashley Smithline, which detailed how women were systematically pressured by Evan Rachel Wood and Illma Gore to make false claims about Brian Warner [aka Marilyn Manson],” King said. “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.”
Phoenix Rising Review: Evan Rachel Wood Details Her Searing Story of Surviving Abuse
Since Wood’s original accusations of abuse against Manson in February 2021, numerous other women have stepped forward to detail their own allegations against the singer. Game of Thrones actress Esmé Bianco settled her nearly two-year legal battle out of court, while the aforementioned Ashley Morgan Smithline’s case was dismissed after she stated that she “succumbed to pressure from Evan Rachel Wood and her associates to make accusations of rape and assault against Mr. Warner that were not true.”
Judge Tosses Out Bulk of Marilyn Manson’s Defamation Suit Against Evan Rachel Wood
Jon Hadusek
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