Marilyn Manson (real name Brian Warner) has been accused by over ten women of sexual abuse in the last few months, and now his former assistant is coming forward with a lawsuit. The Cut reports that Manson's former assistant, Ashley Walters, is suing him for sexual assault, battery and harassment.
She filed her papers yesterday, May 18th in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. In a statement from his team, Manson has “vehemently denied any accusations of assault” in relation to Walter's case.
Manson initially reached out to Waters on Myspace in May of 2010, when she was 26, saying he was a fan of her photography and offered a potential collaboration. She came over to his West Hollywood house to look at paintings and talk about art. When Walters tried to leave at around 2 a.m., after his assistant and bandmates had long left, Manson told her the lot where he suggested she parked was closed until 7a.m.
Manson asked to conduct a photo shoot, and at one point requested that Walters take her shirt off. According to the complaint, she was “not opposed to provocative art in theory, but the way in which [Manson] insisted caused her to pause.”
Walters ultimately kept her bra on, but when Manson was done shooting, he pushed Walters on his bed, pinned her down and tried to kiss her. According to the complaint, Manson “then moved behind Walters and bit her ear while grabbing her hand and placing it in his underwear.” Walters was able to roll off the bed, and as soon as the lot open she left and walked to her car. At the time, she did not think it was assault because she told herself she stopped it.
The two stayed in touch and Manson eventually asked her to be his personal assistant. He offered her double what she was making at the time. According to the complaint, “She knew it could be an incredible opportunity to become involved in the creative entertainment field, one that would not be likely to come around again.”
Walters noted that Manson keeps a nocturnal schedule, and blackout curtains were always drawn in his house, forcing Walters to walk around with a headlamp. Walters was expected to work for 48 hours straight, as Manson would stay up on coke binges. She feared his angry outbursts, including having dishes thrown at her, being pushed against a wall, and constant threats. He once emailed Walters a photo of his ex-girlfriend Esme Bianco (who is also suing him). The photo showed Bianco's back, which was cut up, with the message "See what happens?"
According to The Cut, Manson would regularly offer up Walters to friends for sexual favors.
Some of the most disturbing behavior described in the lawsuit includes allegations that Manson “commonly offered Walters up to his influential industry friends and associates.” At an awards show in September 2010, Manson “pushed Walters onto the lap of an actor and bragged that he could ‘have her,’” the lawsuit reads. “The actor proceeded to kiss Walters and keep her on his lap.” The next month, the complaint says Manson introduced her to a director who repeatedly groped Walters and shoved his hand up her skirt while covering her mouth. She said the singer expected her to please his friends, whether that meant bringing them food, flirting with them, or letting them touch her.
“It made me feel like I was his property,” she told the Cut. “It just made me feel like a piece of meat.” A former member of Manson’s inner circle who asked to remain anonymous said they witnessed Manson tell Walters to sit on men’s laps, and said that he “offered up Ashley more than a few times.”
Eventually, Walters was fired by Manson, with Manson claiming she tried to sabatoge his career. She claims that Manson hacked into her Facebook account and tried to accuse her of stealing his art, and smeared her to all of his friends and colleagues.
Everything changed for Walters when she heard Evan Rachel Wood's testimony and knew it was about Manson. Last fall, Wood and Bianco reached out to Walters and the three began sharing stories. You can read the full complaint at The Cut.
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 military 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.
