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Marilyn Manson at a 2012 concert. (Photo via Raymond Boyd — Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images)
Shock rocker Marilyn Manson is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl on a bus during his tour promoting the release of his “Smells Like Children” album in 1995, according to a new lawsuit filed in court.
Filed under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, the Nassau County Supreme Court complaint is one of several filed by women accusing the rock star — born Brian Warner — of rape and sexual abuse.
His attorney Brian King strongly denied the allegations.
“Brian Warner does not know this individual and has no recollection of ever having met her 28 years ago,” King told Law&Crime in an email. “He certainly was never intimate with her. She has been shopping her fabricated tale to tabloids and on podcasts for more than two years. But even the most minimal amount of scrutiny reveals the obvious discrepancies in her ever-shifting stories as well as her extensive collusion with other false accusers.”
“Upset, Humiliated and Confused”
The latest accuser, known only as Jane Doe, says in court papers that she decided to proceed anonymously for fear of retribution from fans.
In the autumn of 1995, Marilyn Manson had been on tour to promote “Smells Like Children,” his band’s second album. His accuser says that she attended an all-ages concert that year on Sept. 15, a few days after her 16th birthday.
“After the show, a group of about twenty young fans gathered outside the venue in front of defendant Warner’s tour bus in hopes to see Defendant Warner and his band,” the complaint states. “Fans waited in line for autographs. Plaintiff and three other underage female fans waited to meet Defendant Warner and other band members.”
She says that Warner started talking to them before inviting “one of the other younger girls” and her onto the tour bus.
“While on the tour bus, Defendant Warner performed various acts of criminal sexual conduct upon the plaintiff, who was a virgin at the time, including but not limited to forced copulation and vaginal penetration,” the complaint says. “One of the band members watched Defendant Warner sexually assault Plaintiff.”
The accuser says she was “in pain, scared, upset, humiliated and confused.”
“After he was done, Defendant Warner laughed at her,” the lawsuit claims.
Telling the then-teenager to “get the f— off of my bus,” Warner threatened that he would kill her and her family if she told anyone what happened, according to the lawsuit.
Warner’s then-tour manager, who isn’t named as a defendant in the lawsuit, gave the accuser the singer’s private 1-800 number to stay in touch with the band for future shows.
Jane Doe says that the manager also gave her a “secret, heavy metal themed password.” She claims that Warner also sexually assaulted her at a concert in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Dec. 9, 1995 —and again years later, when she was 19.
Though the woman has filed the lawsuit anonymously, her account matches that of a woman who has spoken publicly in a podcast and in interviews for news articles for years. Law&Crime is not naming her because she requested privacy in her lawsuit, as an alleged victim of sexual assault. Warner’s attorney, however, claims that “inconsistencies” between her lawsuit and public interviews will lead to the complaint’s dismissal.
“If anyone actually compares the vicious lies in the new complaint with the contents of prior interviews this woman has given to the press and on podcasts, the remarkable inconsistencies will demonstrate why this misguided action will not survive legal examination,” Warner’s attorney wrote. “Brian will not submit to this shakedown – and the courts won’t fall for it either.”
“Fearful for My Safety”
For years, sexual abuse allegations against the shock rocker have been snowballing, thanks in part to the #MeToo movement and changes in New York and California law empowering alleged victims to file complaints that would otherwise have been barred by the statute of limitations.
In February 2021, years after her congressional testimony on rights for sexual assault survivors, actress Evan Rachel Wood revealed the identity of her alleged abuser on Instagram: Warner. Four women commented on the post, alleging that they had similar experiences with the singer.
NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 13: Actress Evan Rachel Wood and musician Marilyn Manson arrive for the after party for a special screening of “Across The Universe” at Bette on September 13, 2007 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Wintrow/Getty Images)
A flood of litigation followed. That May, “Game of Thrones” actress Esmé Bianco sued Warner in California, claiming he once cut her with a Nazi knife during sex. (That lawsuit later reached an out-of-court settlement.) Warner’s former assistant Ashley Walters also sued him that month, in a later-dismissed complaint alleging sexual assault, battery, and harassment. Last September, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department passed off its investigation to the District Attorney’s office for possible criminal charges.
In an affidavit accompanying her complaint, Jane Doe says that she reached out to the other accusers and was surprised to learn her identity was made public.
“A few years ago, several other women disclosed abuse at the hands of the same person,” the woman said in an affidavit. “I reached out to one of them directly and privately. I came to learn after that some of what I communicated was revealed to others and my identity came out. Soon after, I was surprised to be contacted by reporters who asked me about what happened to me. Looking back on that time, I was not ready for any public disclosure of the abuse as I was certainly not seeking any attention.”
Jane Doe says the “massive amount of backlash” that swiftly followed left her “fearful for my safety.”
“I was accused of seeking attention and seeking money, which are not why I came forward at all,” her affidavit states. “I suffered hacks and online harassment. With the publicity I became concerned for my future, my career, and my family as a result of making allegations. I am concerned for my family that they will be targeted.”
Itemizing the alarming number of allegations against Warner, Rolling Stone magazine referred to him as “The Monster Hiding in Plain Sight.” Part of that article described how his label Interscope thought he’d crossed a line when attempting to add “two terrifying audio vignettes titled ‘Abuse,”” one of which features a woman describing the molestation of a 6-year-old boy.
Jane Doe’s lawsuit lists both Interscope and Nothing Records as defendants, claiming that they “celebrated and promoted” Warner’s “pedophilic obsessions and violent behaviors” for financial gain.
The singer, whose stage name is a conflation of Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson, swiped a lyric from the serial killer in his album “Portrait of an American Family.”
“I am the pedophile’s dream, a messianic peter pan,” the lyric went.
Jane Doe alleges five counts, including sexual battery against Warner and intentional infliction of emotional distress for all defendants. The counts specific to the labels are negligence, negligent supervision, and violation of New York general business law.
She is represented by attorney Jeffrey R. Anderson and has not specified what she is seeking in damages.
Update—Jan. 30 at 9:21 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include a reaction from Marilyn Manson’s attorney.
Read the lawsuit below:
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