By: Megan Hastings

Media Production Editor

Trigger Warning: This article contains references to sexual assault and rape.

An anonymous female victim has sued Marilyn Manson, the American rock musician known for his controversial stage presence, on Jan. 30 for sexual assault of a minor. According to the lawsuit, Manson, whose real name is Brain Warner, groomed and sexually assaulted the young girl on multiple occasions in the 1990s. The plaintiff, known only as Jane Doe, claims that Warner assaulted and raped her for years, beginning when she was just 16 years old. Doe has also accused Interscope Music Publishing and Nothing Records, who represented Warner, of being aware of the assault and “[celebrating] and [promoting it] for financial gain.” The lawsuit labels the companies as co-defendants, indicating they may also face consequences. 

Doe explained that she met Warner in 1995 at a concert in Dallas, where Manson invited her onto his tour bus. The age of consent was, and remains, 17 years old, making the act statutory rape. Along with rape, the plaintiff also filed counts of sexual battery, intentional inflections of emotional distress, and negligence. Warner’s attorney, Howard King, claimed that the star “does not know this individual and has no recollection of ever having met her 28 years ago.” 

The lawsuit comes less than a week after the singer settled another lawsuit brought by actress Esme Bianco, who sued him in April, 2021. Biano claimed that Warner deprived her of food and sleep, locked her in her bedroom, and threatened to rape her. Among the allegations in the lawsuit were sexual assault and human trafficking, with incidents dating back to 2007. It is unknown what she got out of the settlement, but an attorney for Bianco explained that she settled the lawsuit to “move on with her life and career.”

Doe and Biano are only two out of many women who have accused Warner of sexual assault. Actress Evan Rachael Woods named Warner as her abuser in the documentary Phoenix Rising. Warner remains engaged in a lawsuit against Woods for defamation. Following Woods’ accusation, four other women sued Warner for sexual assault. Model Ashley Morgan Smithline also sued Warner for sexual assault, sexual battery, unlawful imprisonment, and more. The court dismissed her lawsuit on Jan. 4. Other alleged victims are Warner’s assistant and photographer, Ashley Walters, and model Sarah McNeilly. 

Warner stated in an Instagram post in 2021 that, “[His] intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners.” Howard King, Warner’s lawyer, additionally claimed that Jane Doe completely fabricated the allegations, commenting, “Brian will not submit to this shakedown — and the courts won’t fall for it either.”

(Sources: The Rolling Stone, USA Today, Insider)