In a lawsuit filed on Long Island, New York, on Monday, the singer Marilyn Manson was accused of “childhood and adult sexual abuse, sexual battery, assault and molestation”.
The suit, which alleged Manson first targeted the unnamed plaintiff when she was 16 in 1995, came less than a week after the singer, whose real name is Brian Warner, reached a settlement with the actor Esmé Bianco, who sued him in April 2021, alleging rape and sexual battery.
That suit came amid multiple allegations of abuse from other women, prominently including the actor Evan Rachel Wood.
Manson, through his lawyer, has “vehemently denie[d] any and all claims of sexual assault or abuse of anyone”. He also sued Wood for defamation, emotional distress and other claims.
He did not immediately comment on the new suit, which was filed under the New York Adult Survivors Act.
Signed by the New York governor, Kathy Hochul, last May, the act gives alleged victims of sexual assault a window of time in which to sue regardless of when the crime allegedly occurred. Without the act, the claims would be barred from being brought forth by filing deadlines known as statutes of limitation.
The writer E Jean Carroll sued Donald Trump under the act, over her allegation that he raped her in a department store in the mid-1990s, which the former president denies.
The plaintiff in the new suit against Manson is described as “an adult female residing in Maryland”, born in 1979. The suit alleges that Manson “first targeted” the plaintiff “in 1995 when she was 16 years old, using his role, status, and power as an adult and performer in the music industry to gain access to, groom, manipulate and exploit her, resulting in sexual assault in two separate incidents.
“Then, in 1999 when plaintiff was approximately 19 years old, defendant Warner perpetuated his grooming, manipulation, exploitation and sexual assault of plaintiff over the course of approximately four weeks.”
The suit names Nothing Records and its distributor Interscope Music Publishing as co-defendants that were allegedly “aware of” Manson’s “practice of sexually assaulting minors, and aided and abetted such behavior”.
The suit says Manson’s “pedophilic obsessions and violent behaviors were not only known by defendants Interscope and Nothing Records, but they were celebrated and promoted for their collective financial gain”.
One of the plaintiff’s attorneys, Karen Barth Menzies, said the suit was “an indictment of the music industry for maintaining a culture that celebrates, protects and enables sexual predators”.
Interscope and Universal Music, a parent company to the now defunct Nothing label, did not immediately comment.
The suit says the plaintiff “suffered severe emotional, physical and psychological distress, including shame, and guilt, economic loss, economic capacity and emotional loss … humiliation, shame, and horror that she will continue to suffer for the rest of her life”.
It seeks unspecified damages, costs and “an order enjoining defendants from future unlawful business practices including but not limited to exposing minors and vulnerable adults to sexual abuse and exploitation”.
Another attorney for the plaintiff, Jeff Anderson, who has also represented victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic church, said: “For too long, music industry predators have hidden in plain sight, believing they are above the law.
“Today, we are demanding Warner face retribution, so he knows he will no longer escape his day in court. This is a day of reckoning.”
In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit the Men’s Advice Line or Women’s Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.
