Marilyn Manson has now been ordered to pay even more legal fees, bringing the total to nearly $500,000 (£396,000).
In March 2022, Manson brought a defamation case against actress and former partner Evan Rachel Wood, who claimed that the musician started grooming her when she was a teenager and “horrifically abused me for years”.
In response, Manson denied all allegations and claimed in a lawsuit that Wood “recruited, coordinated, and pressured” women to make false statements about the musician. The case’s key claims were dismissed in May of last year. However, some parts of the case are still pending and a trial is set for May 1 this year.
Since the dismissal, Manson was ordered to pay Wood’s legal fees of roughly $326,000. Now, it has been reported that Manson will pay the legal fees of artist Illma Gore, who is named as a second defendant and described as Wood’s “on-again, off-again romantic partner” in his defamation lawsuit.
Gore is reportedly owed over $160,000, bringing Manson’s total to nearly $500,000. The reimbursements were awarded under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which says that defendants unfairly sued for their freedom of speech can have their attorney’s costs paid for by the plaintiff.
On an Instagram post in 2021, Wood originally accused Manson of grooming her as a teenager and “horrifically” abusing her for years. “I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission,” she wrote. “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.”
Upon her initial post, at least four other women shared their own stories about Manson in solidarity with Wood. Manson has denied all five of his accusers’ claims, calling them “horrible distortions of reality“.
Since then, Manson has been hit with a series of sexual assault cases. Accusers include Game of Thrones actress and former girlfriend Esme Bianco and ex-girlfriend Ashley Morgan Smithline. The lawsuit filed by Smithline has since been dismissed, while Manson denied Bianco’s claims as “meritless” and settled with her in January 2023.
He was also accused by someone only known as Jane Doe in September 2023 – however, her case was settled a week ahead of going on trial.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.