Marilyn Manson (real name Brian Warner) has been accused by over ten women of sexual abuse in the last few months. The flood gates opened when his former girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood named him as her abuser in February. Just this month, he's been sued by his former girlfriend Esmé Bianco for sexual assault and sex trafficking. Stories about Manson's abuse have been popping up for over a year, and it seems like Manson was very much aware of what was going on.
A new in-depth feature from Metal Hammer interviews the women who have been raising alarms about Manson's behavior for quite a while. They do not use their real names, but rather aliases – Ellie, Alex and Laura. An Instagram account to document Manson's abuses with the username mansonisabusive.
They claim Manson's "digital footprint" was visible, as they had noticed that his account saw stories they posted and tagged him in and eventually the account was blocked by Manson. In the article, there are claims that Manson's wife, Lindsay Usich is also attempting to silence women who speak out.
One part, in particular, seems to suggest that Manson and Usich have made numerous attempts to discredit these claims by one of the account runners, "Laura":
Usich has made mildly threatening hints to Laura in the past that she has been close to uncovering her location. “Lindsay talked a lot about IP addresses and how she knew my location and stuff, but I don’t really think she ever did,” says Laura. “She always tried to scare me.” However, both Manson and Usich have Laura’s personal Instagram account – which she’s never publicized or linked to Mansonisabusive – blocked, which Laura believes must be because they actually did track down her IP address and use it to link the two accounts together.
A contact working for the Phoenix Act has confirmed that "a bunch" of fan accounts sending abuse to Alex, Ellie and others link back to IP addresses in the Hollywood Hills. The likelihood that a load of Manson's abusive fans all live in the same exclusive seven square mile area seems slim. But we know who does live there: Manson and Usich.
You can read the entire excellent Metal Hammer report here.
In February, Evan Rachel Wood revealed that she filed a police report on December 19th, 2020 against Lindsay Usich, and a person named Leslee Lane (who we assume is was a mutual friend of Manson's and Wood's). Wood wrote she had to file a report after being alerted to threats made by the Leslee and Lindsay "for conspiring to release photos of me when I was UNDERAGE, after being given large amounts of alcohol after Brian [Manson] performed on Halloween in Las Vegas, to 'ruin my career' and 'shut me up.'" She shared screenshots of a Discord conversation in which Leslee, who took the photos, revealed that Linsday wanted old photos of Wood to potentially ruin Wood's career. The photos showed Wood in Manson's miliary general hat, with a Hitler mustache drawn on her. She claimed the photo was "a part of the humiliation and blackmail."
One of Manson's former personal assistants has backed her claims and alleged Manson is abusing his current wife.
Wood began signal-boosting other women who spoke of the abuse they alleged Manson caused to them. Another accuser has since come forward saying Manson pulled a gun on her and accused him of drugging his girlfriend at the time. Actress Ashley Morgan Smithline accused Manson of similar abuses and said he once raped her while she was sleeping, only to wake up and find herself tied up and being penetrated by him. She showed off scars from when he cut her to People in a harrowing video.
Limp Bizkit's Wes Borland, who played with Manson in 1998, was the first artist to speak out, and said that everything Wood was saying was true. Trent Reznor released a statement denouncing him. Another musician, Phoebe Bridgers, revealed she went over to Manson's house as a teenager and he joked of having "a rape room."
Otep released a statement that Manson's current wife, Usich, used to call Otep's previous girlfriend in hysterics claiming Manson was drugged and abusive. A former personal assistant of Manson's also is claiming Manson is abusing his current wife. A former "teen lover" says Manson groomed her while she was underage.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
