In February 2021, Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood named Marilyn Manson as her alleged abuser.
“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,” she shared via Instagram on Feb 1. Wood and Manson had a relationship when the actress was 18 and Manson was 36, and the pair were briefly engaged in 2010.
Manson denied the allegations in his own Instagram statement. “Obviously, my art and my life have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality,” he wrote. “My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how – and why – others are now choosing to misinterpret the past, that is the truth.”
Billboard made earlier attempts to reach Manson for comment through his now former management, but has not received any responses.
Following Wood’s statement, a number of other women went public with their own claims against Manson, but his history with abuse allegations stems back nearly 25 years. See below for a full timeline.
