Evan Rachel Wood addresses Marilyn Manson suing her for defamation: ‘I have the truth on my side’
Evan Rachel Wood. (Getty)
Evan Rachel Wood said she has the “truth on her side” after her alleged abuser Marilyn Manson sued her for defamation.
The actor and singer accused Manson – real name Brian Warner – of “horrifically” abusing her “for years” in an Instagram post in February 2021. She alleged that he “groomed her” as a teen, after previously detailing the alleged abuse without naming him.
At least 15 women have since come forward to accuse Warner of sexual assault.
He denies sexually assaulting Evan Rachel Wood or any of the other women, and has filed a defamation lawsuit against Wood.
Wood told Good Morning America on Monday (14 March) that although she couldn’t legally get into the allegations Warner has made against her, “I am very confident that I have the truth on my side”.
She said that she had previously not publicly named Warner as her alleged abuser due to fears of “retaliation”.
“It was made very clear to me that there would be retaliation,” she said , “and to expose a person in power, who is as high profile as he is, clearly is a huge undertaking.”
Evan Rachel Wood documentary details Marilyn Manson ‘abuse’
The Good Morning America interview comes as Evan Rachel Wood is releasing a two-part HBO documentary named Phoenix Rising, which details the alleged abuse.
In the documentary, Wood speaks about her ordeal, and claims she was too scared to file a restraining order against Warner.
“People in my life said, ‘You need to get a restraining order.’ And I said, ‘Absolutely not, absolutely not.’ Getting a restraining order seemed absolutely crazy to me, because I was like, ‘You’re only going to make him more mad.'” Wood said.
She added on Good Morning America: “So many survivors live in fear of judgment and retaliation and mainly live with shame, and I know because I experienced it.
“And whenever a surviver comes forward or whenever there are allegations, it’s hard for me not to make it personal. And I could feel at that time that it was time to say something. It was time to stop being silent.”
Warner’s lawsuit alleges that Wood, along with her partner Illma Gore, coordinated women to make “false accusations of abuse against him” for the documentary.
Howard King, Warner’s attorney, said in a statement to ABC News: “As we detailed in our lawsuit, nothing that Evan Rachel Wood, Illma Gore or their hand-picked co-conspirators have said on this matter can be trusted.
“This is just more of the same. But, then again, what else would you expect from a group who have spread falsehood after falsehood about Brian?”
Phoenix Rising airs on Sky Documentaries on 17 and 18 March.
