Marilyn Manson has filed a lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood for defamation over the actor’s sexual abuse allegations against him.
Manson, the American “shock rocker” born Brian Warner, filed the complaint in Los Angeles superior court on Wednesday. The complaint accuses Wood and her “on-again, off-again” partner Ashley “Illma” Gore, of depicting him as “a rapist and abuser – a malicious falsehood that has derailed Warner’s successful music, TV, and film career.”
Representatives for Wood and Gore did not respond to request for comment from Deadline, which first reported the lawsuit.
Wood and Gore appear in Phoenix Rising, a new documentary about Wood’s life and career that is scheduled to premiere on HBO this month. It also details Wood’s allegations against Manson.
In the documentary, Wood said that during a previously discussed “simulated sex scene” for the music video of Manson’s 2007 single Heart-Shaped Glasses, Manson “started penetrating me for real” and that she “had never agreed to that”.
Wood said she was given absinthe on set, which affected her ability to refuse Manson’s alleged actions. Warner has denied raping Wood on the set of the music video.
In Wednesday’s filing, Manson accused Wood and Gore of “falsifying and spreading” allegations against him. He claims they pretended to be an FBI agent by “forging and distributing a fictitious letter from the agent, to create the false appearance” that Manson was under a federal criminal investigation.
Manson alleges that Wood and Gore “provided checklists and scripts to prospective accusers, listing the specific alleged acts of abuse that they should claim against Warner”.
The suit accuses Gore of trying to obtain Manson’s login information to his computer, phone and email and claims that she created a fake email address to claim that Manson was sending pornography to contacts.
In addition to requesting a jury trial, Manson has accused Wood of inflicting emotional distress, violation of the Comprehensive Computer Data and Access Fraud Act, and impersonation over the internet.
In a statement, Howard King, Manson’s attorney said: “Even though HBO and the producers have been made aware of these serious acts of misconduct, they have thus far chosen to proceed without regard for the facts. But the evidence of wrongdoing by Wood and Gore is irrefutable – and this legal action will hold them to account.”
