Evan Rachel Wood has spoken about her past relationship with Marilyn Manson, describing feelings of powerlessness while dating the siner. The Evan Rachel Wood Recalls Feeling Like She ‘Deserved’ Being ‘Abused’ By Ex-Fiancé Marilyn Manson first appeared on The Blast

Evan Rachel Wood has spoken again about her past romance with Marilyn Manson, describing feelings of powerlessness, guilt, and confusion that she says plagued their relationship.

The actress alleges emotional and sexual abuse, while the singer has denied all claims made against him.

The long-running dispute also included a defamation lawsuit Marilyn Manson later filed against Evan Rachel Wood, which was withdrawn in 2024 after he paid the legal costs.

Evan Rachel Wood Reflects On Relationship With Marilyn Manson 

Evan Rachel Wood recently got candid about her relationship with Manson and how she came to feel powerless during the time they were together.

In a recent interview with The Times, the 38-year-old actress shared that she struggled for years with guilt and confusion over the way she says she was treated.

According to Wood, those feelings became so overwhelming that she began to believe she somehow deserved what was happening.

“I accepted my powerlessness and felt I deserved it somehow,” she told the publication.

She described the environment around Manson as having a “cult-like” dynamic, which she says made it “twice as hard to leave and twice as scary to speak out.”

Wood noted that her story reflects a broader issue many survivors face, feeling unheard or dismissed, drawing comparisons to cases like the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, where, she suggested, evidence alone did not always lead to accountability.

“Every survivor I know was like, yeah, welcome to the party. Now you’re seeing what we have seen,” she added.

The Actress Said Marilyn Manson Knew That She ‘Felt Lonely’

Wood also reflected on how their relationship began, noting she was 18 at the time and that he initially made her feel seen before he began to “exploit” her loneliness.

“He saw that I felt lonely and unseen and started to exploit that, saying, ‘This is special. This is different. We’re supposed to be together,'” the actress shared.

Wood first publicly accused Manson in 2021, alleging sexual assault and emotional abuse during their relationship, which lasted from 2006 to 2010.

Manson, whose real name is Brian Hugh Warner, has consistently denied the allegations.

He later responded by filing a lawsuit against Wood, claiming that she had taken part in a deliberate attempt to damage his reputation by portraying him as “a rapist and abuser” and undermining his career.

The dispute between Manson and Wood shifted in 2024 when he withdrew his lawsuit and, following a judge’s ruling, covered her legal costs totaling about $327,000.

Marilyn Manson Claimed He Dropped His Defamation Lawsuit Against Wood To ‘Close’ That Chapter Of His Life

In November 2024, attorney Howard King, representing Manson, said his client chose to end the legal fight after several years, describing the move as a way to finally “close the door on this chapter of his life.”

Meanwhile, Wood’s legal team said the musician had previously tried to settle the case while his appeal was ongoing.

According to the team, the proposal required Wood to agree to a joint public statement and strict confidentiality terms in exchange for partial payment of her legal costs, an offer she declined.

They added that Manson ultimately paid the actress’s full legal expenses and withdrew the lawsuit entirely.

Evan Rachel Wood Called The Defamation Suit A ‘Publicity Stunt’

A representative for Wood characterized the original lawsuit as a “publicity stunt to try to undermine the credibility of his many accusers and revive his faltering career.”

They argued that the court’s findings and his decision to drop the case while covering nearly $327,000 in legal fees reinforced that view.

The lawsuit itself had been filed in March 2022, shortly before the release of Wood’s HBO documentary “Phoenix Rising,” where she detailed allegations of sexual assault and emotional abuse during their relationship from 2006 to 2010.

Following the documentary, several other women came forward with accusations against Manson, including Esmé Bianco and former assistant Ashley Walters.

Judge Reinstates Ashley Walters’ Lawsuit Against Marilyn Manson Under New Sexual Assault Law

Separately, in January, a Los Angeles judge allowed a previously dismissed lawsuit filed by Walters to move forward under a law that temporarily reopens expired sexual assault claims.

The case had initially been dismissed for falling outside the standard legal time limit, but was reconsidered after the introduction of the new statute.

According to The Guardian, Steve Cochran, the judge who had previously dismissed the case, ruled that the updated law could revive the claim. Walters alleges that she was sexually assaulted while working for Manson between 2010 and 2011 and has also made additional claims about his behavior during that period.

The lawsuit, originally filed in May 2021 by former assistant Ashley Walters, had been thrown out the previous December after exceeding the usual legal time limit for such cases. However, Walters petitioned the court to revisit the decision once a new law introduced a temporary two-year window allowing expired claims to be reconsidered.

Manson’s attorney, Howard King, has disputed the allegations, arguing that the case does not meet the legal requirements under the revised statute and maintaining that his client did not commit any sexual assault.

The Evan Rachel Wood Recalls Feeling Like She ‘Deserved’ Being ‘Abused’ By Ex-Fiancé Marilyn Manson first appeared on The Blast