Marilyn Manson has been ordered to pay Evan Rachel Wood $326,956, covering much of the legal fees the Westworld actress amassed defending herself from the musician’s defamation lawsuit.
Manson (real name Brian Warner), 55, sued his former partner Wood, 36, and her friend Ilma Gore for defamation in March 2022. The suit claimed that the pair were attempting to characterise Manson “as a rapist and abuser” in the public eye, “derail[ing]” his career in the process.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Teresa A. Beaudet dismissed the claims in the Manson suit in May last year. She did so on the ground that Wood’s allegations against the singer – which include that he raped, tortured and threatened her – were protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
Wood and her lawyers wrote in their successful anti-SLAPP statement: “For years, Plaintiff Brian Warner raped and tortured Defendant Evan Rachel Wood and threatened retaliation if she told anyone about it. Warner has now made good on those threats by filing the present lawsuit.”
Yesterday, January 29, as reported by Rolling Stone, Beaudet ordered that Manson must pay Wood the vast majority of the legal fee she spent defending herself against the musician’s lawsuit.
The actress originally sought $388,000, but the judge reduced the amount that Manson owed by upwards of $60,000, agreeing with Manson’s lawyers that some of the hours Wood was billing for were “vague”.
Despite the dismissal of the defamation lawsuit and the ordered reimbursement, Wood and Gore are still set to stand trial on May 1. Manson’s suit alleges that the pair conspired to hack into his computer and impersonate him online.
Manson has also been accused of abusive behaviour by actress Esmé Bianco, known for her appearances in Game Of Thrones. The 41-year-old sued the musician for sexual, physical and emotional abuse in 2021, before the case was ultimately settled out of court in January 2023.
Bianco’s lawyer said a settlement was reached so the actress could “move on with her life and career”.
In December, Manson's former personal assistant Ashley Walters had her lawsuit against her former employer reinstated after a court in California upheld her appeal against an earlier ruling that dismissed her claim.
Walters claims that during her first meeting with the musician, at his house in 2010, Manson attempted to pin her on a bed to kiss her, bit her ear and placed her hand in his underwear. Her lawsuit went on to describes Manson’s “drug induced fits of rage”, which included physical violence towards Walters. It also alleges that Manson “routinely encourage, promoted and expected Walters to ‘please’ his friends in whatever way they desired", adding that unnamed acquaintances of the singer sexually harassed and groped her.
The singer also allegedly showed Walters a video of him abusing and whipping a young fan, and told her “he wanted to kill women, that he had gotten away with raping women, and that he had the ability to ‘destroy lives.” Walters' year-long employment with Manson ended in October 2011.
In her appeal, Walters argued that while the alleged abuse at Manson's hands took place during her “horrific” year working for the singer, the typical two-year statute of limitations didn’t apply because she had suppressed her memories until 2020. Finding in her favour, the court stated, “Walters’s allegations of delayed discovery were sufficient to withstand demurrer, and we reverse.”
Manson and his legal team have denied all allegations of abuse made against him.
