In February, actress Evan Rachel Wood revealed that she’d suffered physical and psychological abuse from shock rocker Marilyn Manson. Since then, several other women have come forward with their own accusations against Manson, ranging from inappropriate behavior to physical abuse to sex trafficking practices. Now, Marilyn Manson’s former assistant Ashley Waters has sued the rock star, with charges including sexual assault, battery, and harassment.
As reported by The Cut, Waters’ complaint, filed on Tuesday in the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, includes accounts of violent outbursts from Manson, not to mention forcing Waters to work up to 48 hours straight and telling his friends that they could grope and kiss her as they wished. Waters details several stories in which Manson behaved inappropriately, including pinning her down and trying to kiss her, placing her hand in his underwear, and urging her to take photos wearing Nazi paraphernalia so he could later use them to smear her career.l
“It made me feel like I was his property,” she told the Cut. “It just made me feel like a piece of meat.
“Once I realized how many people had been affected, I couldn’t sit by and let this happen to anyone else,” Walters said. “My end goal is just to hold him accountable.”
You can read Waters’ full complaint at The Cut. A member of Manson’s team has apparently said that the singer “vehemently denied any accusations of assault” in relation to Walters’s complaint.
While many fans have supported Manson throughout these abuse allegations, many of those closest to him have made a point of distancing themselves from the musician. Manson was dropped by his label shortly after Rachel Wood named him as her abuser, while former collaborator Trent Reznor made it very clear that he was no fan of Manson’s.
“I have been vocal over the years about my dislike of Manson as a person and cut ties with him nearly 25 years ago,” Reznor said in an interview. “As I said at the time, the passage from Manson’s memoir is a complete fabrication. I was infuriated and offended back when it came out and remain so today.”
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Words by Chris Krovatin
