Marilyn Manson has filed a defamation lawsuit against his ex-fiancée Evan Rachel Wood, claiming that her abuse allegations amount to a “malicious falsehood.” Within the suit, the rocker insists that Wood and her “romantic partner” Ashley Gore (aka Illma Gore) forged an FBI letter to make it seem like there was a federal investigation of Manson and that his “alleged victims” were in danger.
Update: In a statement posted to social media, Manson wrote, “There will come a time when I can share more about the events of the past year. Until then, I’m going to let the facts speak for themselves,” alongside a link to the lawsuit.
The singer’s lawsuit comes just over a year after Wood named Manson as her abuser, setting off a series of further assault claims by several other women. In the weeks that followed, Manson was dropped from his record label, eliminated from movie roles, and lambasted by former collaborators like Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland.
Per the lawsuit, which was obtained by Consequence from Manson’s representative, the singer is suing Wood and Gore over the following four complaints: “1. Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress; 2. Defamation Per Se. 3. Violation of the Comprehensive Computer Data and Access Fraud Act; 4. Impersonation over the Internet.”
The 22-page lawsuit is introduced with the following summary:
“This action arises from the wrongful and illegal acts done in furtherance of a conspiracy by Defendant Evan Rachel Wood and her on-again, off-again romantic partner, Defendant Ashley Gore, a/k/a Illma Gore, to publicly cast Plaintiff Brian Warner, p/k/a Marilyn Manson, as a rapist and abuser—a malicious falsehood that has derailed Warner’s successful music, TV, and film career.”
From there, Manson questions why Wood waited a decade to level abuse claims at him: “In the ten years after they split, Wood never once accused Warner of abuse—that is, until she met Gore, a grifter who understood that an organized attack on Warner—spearheaded by Wood’s own fabricated revelation of rape and abuse—could benefit them both.”
