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A lawsuit accusing musician Marilyn Manson of “childhood and adult sexual abuse, sexual battery, assault and molestation” was filed in New York on Monday.
Two of Manson’s former labels, Interscope Records and Nothing Records — an Interscope label that no longer exists — are also named as defendants in the lawsuit, filed in Nassau County, and accused of “protecting, promoting, and profiteering from” his alleged conduct.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of a Jane Doe, alleges Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, sexually assaulted her on his tour bus after an all-ages concert in 1995, when she was 16 years old. It also alleges that Manson threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone.
Manson groomed the plaintiff, the lawsuit alleges, encouraging her to send explicit pictures of herself and her friends. It also alleges he insisted she attend one of his concerts in 1995 in New Orleans, where he is also alleged to have assaulted her.
The sexual assault continued when the plaintiff was 19 and had moved to Los Angeles to date a member of another band, who had a close association with Manson, the suit alleges. The plaintiff started using drugs and alcohol to self-medicate because of the earlier assaults, and Manson “purposefully and intentionally laid the groundwork necessary to intimidate and control her” as a child and was still able to do so beyond that, according to the lawsuit.
The plaintiff attended a 1999 tour of Manson’s, during which he groomed and sexually assaulted her throughout, the lawsuit alleges. Manson “often coerced Plaintiff to have sex with him and other band members or his assistant at the same time” and provided her with drugs, the lawsuit alleges.
Howard King, an attorney for Manson, called the allegations in the lawsuit “vicious lies” and said his client “will not submit to this shakedown.”
“Brian Warner does not know this individual and has no recollection of ever having met her 28 years ago. He certainly was never intimate with her,” King said in a statement. “She has been shopping her fabricated tale to tabloids and on podcasts for more than two years.”
Attorneys for the plaintiff say Manson, his band and promoters provided children with posters that had symbols “relating to violence, sexual assault, and Satan,” with one flier including the lyrics, “I am the pedophile’s dream.”
“For too long, music industry predators have hidden in plain sight, believing they are above the law,” said Jeff Anderson, an attorney for the plaintiff. “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.”
The lawsuit also accuses Interscope and Nothing Records of negligence, saying they “knew or should have known that Defendant Warner was habitually and routinely engaged in sexual misconduct with young adults and underage children throughout the country.”
Interscope Records did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nothing Records was a label created by musician Trent Reznor through Interscope Records.
“Sexual predators in the music industry don’t act alone,” said Karen Barth Menzies, an attorney for the plaintiff. “In order for there to be meaningful changes in the music industry, we have to do more than just hold the predators accountable. We have to force the record companies to acknowledge the crimes they allow to occur, and in some instances facilitate, and we have to force them to take responsibility for permitting and profiting from outrageous criminal behavior.”
Manson has been accused of grooming a minor and sexual violence before.
In 2021, Evan Rachel Wood, Manson’s former girlfriend, accused him of grooming her as a teenager and abusing her for years. Manson was not charged with any crime connected to Wood’s allegations. He filed a defamation lawsuit against Wood last year.
Manson faced accusations by at least three other women in lawsuits filed against him in 2021.
“Game of Thrones” actor Esmé Bianco sued Manson, alleging he committed multiple violent sexual assaults, a rape and other abuse from 2009 to 2013.
Attorneys for Bianco and Manson said this month that Bianco agreed to resolve her claims against Manson and Marilyn Manson Records Inc. She did so “in order to move on with her life and career,” Bianco’s attorney, Jay Ellwanger, said in a statement Jan. 24.
Ashley Walters, his then-assistant, accused him of sexual exploitation and psychological abuse. The case was dismissed in May, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records. An appeal is also expected to be formally dismissed after it missed a deadline in the 2nd District Court of Appeals.
Also in 2021, model Ashley Morgan Smithline sued Manson, alleging sexual assault, sexual battery and human trafficking. The case was dismissed without prejudice this month, according to court records.
Manson has repeatedly denied any and all allegations of sexual assault and abuse.
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