Marilyn Manson has dropped his defamation lawsuit against his ex Evan Rachel Wood.
The 55-year-old musician sued the 37-year-old actress in 2022 for defamation, fraud and emotional distress, accusing her of making him out to be a “rapist and abuser” and derailing his career.
Evan, who was in a relationship with the singer between 2007 and 2010, claims her former fiancé “basically raped” her while filming a music video, and subjected her to domestic violence.
Evan Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, has agreed to pay his $327,000 legal costs in full after asking to pay only part of the costs.
Evan’s lawyer believes Marilyn – who has been accused of sexual and physical abuse by numerous women since she accused him of sexual assault and abuse in 2021 – set up the defamation trial to “undermine the credibility” of his “numerous accusers” and to “relaunch his faltering career”.
Responding to Marilyn Manson’s decision to drop the charges, Michael J. Kump told Variety: “Marilyn Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, filed a lawsuit against Ms. Wood in an attempt to undermine the credibility of her numerous accusers and revive his faltering career But his attempt to silence Ms. Wood and intimidate her failed. As the trial court rightly found, Warner’s complaints were without merit. Warner to finally drop his charges and pay Ms. Wood her full fee, nearly $327,000, only confirms the fact that he was unable to prove that there was no had no abuse.”
