Please be aware the following story may be difficult for some readers to stomach. Now, with that said…
In an Instagram post, early Monday morning, actor and activist Evan Rachel Wood wrote that the man responsible for abusing her when she was a teenager is indeed Marilyn Manson.
Wood has spoken out in the past about the alleged abuse but never named her abuser. However, many suspected Manson.
Now, along with other women who also say that Marilyn Manson abused them, Evan Rachel Wood is clarifying her allegations, saying she is “done living in fear.”
“The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson,” Wood wrote in the post. “He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. 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.”
In 2018, Wood testified before a House Judiciary Subcommittee in order to get the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights passed in all 50 states.
She shared her experience of abuse with the committee, though she kept the name of her abuser anonymous:
“My experience with domestic violence was this: Toxic mental, physical and sexual abuse which started slow but escalated over time, including threats against my life, severe gaslighting and brainwashing, waking up to the man that claimed to love me raping what he believed to be my unconscious body.”
In addition to testifying for the House Judiciary Subcommittee, Wood also helped create California’s Phoenix Act, a bill that extended the statute of limitations for domestic violence cases from three to five years.
“I mustered the courage to leave several times, but he would call my house incessantly and threaten to kill himself,” Wood said in this testimony. “On one occasion, I returned to try and defuse the situation, he cornered me in our bedroom, and asked me to kneel. Then he tied me up by my hands and feet. Once I was restrained he beat me and shocked sensitive parts of my body with a torture device called a violet wand. To him it was a way for me to prove my loyalty. The pain was excruciating. It felt like I left my body and a part of me died that day.”
Alongside Wood, other women also shared their allegations against Manson today on social media.
Model Ashley Lindsay Morgan wrote that “things turned dark very quickly” during her relationship with Manson. “I have night terrors, PTSD, anxiety, and mostly crippling OCD. I try to wash constantly to get him out or off of me,” she wrote.
Sarah McNeilly wrote about the abuse she suffered and the after-effects:
“As a result of the way he treated me, I suffer from mental health issues and PTSD that have affected my personal and professional relationships, self-worth and personal goals. I believe he gets off on ruining people’s lives. I stand in support of all that have and all will come forward. I want to see Brian held accountable for his evil,” she wrote.
And an artist named Gabriella said that because of the abuse she experienced:
“It has taken me five years to speak out and say that I was in an abusive relationship. I have been diagnosed with PTSD and still suffer from nightmares. I blocked out a lot of the memories, but the feelings remain and manifest in various ways. The reason I’m finally sharing this traumatic experience is for my healing and because I’m done being silent. I don’t believe it’s fair for someone to not be held accountable for their horrific actions. I’m not a victim. I’m a survivor.”
Wood, who is now 33, said she met Manson when she was 18 and he was 36. Wood and Manson were engaged in 2010 before their relationship ended. Manson has said in interviews that he has fantasies about “smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.”
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