Dita Von Teese, Marilyn Manson’s ex-wife, stands by Evan Rachel Wood, other accusers
Actress and burlesque performer Dita Von Teese has responded to allegations of abuse leveled against her ex-husband, Marilyn Manson, by actress Evan Rachel Wood and several others.
On Wednesday, Von Teese released a statement on Instagram supporting the musician’s accusers while “processing the news.” Von Teese and Manson were together for seven years and married in December 2005.
“Please know that the details made public do not match my personal experience during our 7 years together as a couple,” Von Teese wrote. “Had they, I would not have married him ... I left 12 months later due to infidelity and drug abuse.
“Abuse of any kind has no place in any relationship,” she added. “I urge those of you who have incurred abuse to take steps to heal and the strength to fully realize yourself.”
On Monday, Wood identified Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, as her alleged abuser in an effort to “expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives.”
When she was 19 and he was 37, Wood and Manson began publicly dating in 2007. They were briefly engaged in 2010 before splitting up in August of that year.
“He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years,” the “Westworld” star alleged Monday on social media. “I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander or blackmail. ... I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”
Others who have accused Manson of misconduct this week include Sarah McNeilly, Ashley Lindsay Morgan, Ashley Walters, Charlyne Yi, Brittany Leigh and Scarlett Kapella, as well as two more whose display names on Instagram are Torii and Gabriella.
Manson denied the allegations earlier this week as “horrible distortions of reality.” In the wake of the controversy, the actor and singer has been dropped by his record label and talent agency (CAA), as well as removed from multiple TV series.
On Wednesday night, the LAPD responded to a call at Manson’s residence. North Hollywood police conducted a welfare check around 6 p.m. at the 3400 block of Troy Drive in Studio City but left after finding no evidence of trouble or a crime, the LAPD confirmed Thursday morning to The Times.
In video of the incident obtained Wednesday by TMZ, officers can be seen arriving and ringing the doorbell at the property. TMZ reported that the police were able to get in touch with a representative for Manson, who confirmed he was OK but did not want to leave his home. Police reportedly left soon after.
Evan Rachel Wood says Marilyn Manson is a ‘dangerous man’ who abused her and others. Two models and an artist also spoke out, and his record label dropped him.
In a 2009 interview with Spin magazine that has been shared widely after Wood came forward, Manson said he told Wood it was her fault he physically harmed himself after their breakup, and that his song “I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the Movies” was about him fantasizing “every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.”
In a 2020 statement to the music blog Metal Hammer, Manson’s team addressed the interview, claiming that “the comments in Spin where Manson had a fantasy of using a sledgehammer on Evan and he cut himself 158 times was obviously a theatrical rock star interview promoting a new record, and not a factual account.”
On Wednesday, Wood shared an anonymous quote to her Instagram page:
“Don’t ask why victims wait so long to speak up,” the quote read. “Ask what systems were in place to keep them quiet.”
Recently dropped by his label and talent agency, Marilyn Manson calls abuse allegations by Evan Rachel Wood and others ‘horrible distortions of reality.’
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
