A woman who was previously in a relationship with Marilyn Manson has filed a lawsuit against the rocker. In court documents filed Friday, May 28, in Los Angeles with the Superior court of California and obtained by Billboard, the plaintiff — identified only as Jane Doe — alleges that Marilyn Manson “raped” her and subjected her to “degrading acts of sexual exploitation, manipulation, and psychological abuse.”
In the suit, which was first reported by TMZ, Doe says that they met at a pre-Grammy party in February 2011, and began a consensual relationship shortly thereafter, with the musician — born Brian Warner — asking her to move in with him after about two weeks. According to Doe, he was “gentle and romantic at first,” but that things changed quickly.
According to Doe, the musician “demanded extremely frequent sex” and said that she couldn’t sleep through the nights because he would wake her approximately every two hours for sex. She also claimed that “he would force [her] to have sex with him,” and that she’d “pray for Warner to pass out during intercourse” so she could try to “slip away and get some sleep.”
The lawsuit also details how Warner allegedly became more violent during their intimate moments, including one instance when Doe claims he bit her neck “exceedingly hard,” and how she worried that her aunt would see the “bruises and other marks on her body from Warner’s physical abuse.”
Doe states in her suit that she was sexually assaulted when she went to return the key to Warner’s apartment. Per the suit, she was about to leave when he allegedly pushed her to the floor, and “with her face down on the carpet, and his hands on top of her, Warner raped Ms. Doe.” After the assault detailed in the court document, Doe says the musician then threatened to kill her and “bragged that he would get away with it” if he did take her life.
In addition to allegations of sexual assault and abuse, Doe says in her suit that at one point, Warner told her about his relationship with ex-fiancee Evan Rachel Wood and how “he had wanted to kill her.” She went on to explain how he said he allegedly tied the actress — who in February publicly named the musician as her abuser — to a chair and aimed a gun at her.
She also details a videotape she claims Warner made her watch that he called “Groupie.” In the video, according to Doe, a young female fan who appeared to be a teenager came into a home he was staying in, he allegedly tied her to a chair and “humiliated and berated her” as “she cried and pled.” According to the lawsuit, a gun was also visible in the video. Doe noted in the suit that she asked Warner if the female in the video was dead, but that he would not answer, leading Doe to think Warner had “murdered her.”
A source close to Warner tells Billboard that the video “is a scripted short film shot by a crew and a famous photographer/videographer,” and that the young female was an actress who previously appeared in “The Long Hard Road Out of Hell” music video for Marilyn Manson. The insider says this film was intended to be “an extra video feature for an upcoming album release, but was never released.”
Doe says in her lawsuit that it wasn’t until February 2021, after reading about other allegations of sexual assault against Warner, that she recalled her own assault, saying she had “repressed those memories.”
Doe is demanding a trial by jury, and is seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney fees and more.
A member of Warner’s team “strongly denies the accusations” in Doe’s lawsuit.
In addition to Wood, Warner has been accused of assault by other women, including Game of Thrones actress Esme Bianco, former girlfriend Ashley Morgan Smithline, and Ashley Walters, a former personal assistant.
Immediately after Wood named him, the musician denied her claims of abuse. “Obviously, my art and my life have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality,” he wrote in a statement shared on Instagram. “My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how – and why – others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth.”
Stories about sexual assault allegations can be traumatizing for survivors of sexual assault. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can reach out to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). The organization provides free, confidential support to sexual assault victims. Call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organization’s website for more information.
