Marilyn Manson (legal name Brian Warner), is being sued for sexually assaulting a minor. As reported by Rolling Stone, Manson and his former labels – Interscope and Nothing Records – are listed as defendants in the lawsuit.
The plaintiff, who filed the lawsuit as “Jane Doe” says they first met Manson when they were 16 years old. She says that she waited by his tour bus to meet him, and when Manson showed up, he allegedly invited her “and one of the other younger girls” onto the bus; the plaintiff says that Manson asked each girl for their age, school grade, number, and address.
The lawsuit filed against Manson provides the following:
“While on the tour bus, Defendant Warner performed various acts of criminal sexual conduct upon Plaintiff, who was a virgin at the time, including but not limited to forced copulation and vaginal penetration.”
It goes on to add:
“One of the band members watched Defendant Warner sexually assault Plaintiff. Plaintiff was in pain, scared, upset, humiliated and confused. After he was done, Defendant Warner laughed at her. … Then Defendant Warner demanded Plaintiff to ‘get the fuck off of my bus’ and threatened Plaintiff that, if she told anyone, he would kill her and her family.”
The plaintiff claims she was given a 1-800 number and a password by a crew member associated with Manson, the number and password providing a means for Manson and her to communicate.
Jane Doe alleges that, during that same year, Manson reached out to and convinced her to meet up at a concert in New Orleans. Jane Doe claims that Manson “groomed” her by complimenting her artwork. The lawsuit also shares the following:
“Defendant Warner then became more aggressive and again sexually assaulted Plaintiff, including kissing, biting her breast, oral copulation, and penetration.”
The lawsuit also shares: “After the second assault, Defendant Warner acted in a kinder manner nicer to Plaintiff and told her that he wanted to see her again.”
The suit also provides details of abuse that the plaintiff continued to suffer while she was 18 years old; around this time, she was dating Nine Inch Nails member Chris Vrenna. The lawsuit shares that, during this time, the plaintiff was provided backstage passes to Manson’s shows, and that “the atmosphere backstage always included the availability of large amounts of drugs for her and others to use.”
During a time she spent four weeks on the road with Manson’s group, Jane Doe claims that she spent hours with Manson where he’d “groom, harass, and sexually abuse” her.
The lawsuit against Manson states that, by this time, the rocker had a psychological hold on the plaintiff:
“While she was still a child, Defendant Warner had purposefully and intentionally laid the groundwork necessary to intimidate and control her.
“Despite reaching the legal age of majority, that power to psychologically intimidate and control Plaintiff was still present. … While in Florida, Plaintiff considered going back home. Plaintiff spoke with Defendant Warner and revealed her vulnerabilities and a general lack of support she felt from her family. As he did on countless occasions, Defendant Warner exploited this vulnerability to keep Plaintiff under his control.
“Defendant Warner often made Plaintiff feel alone and isolated by telling her that no one understands her other than him, which included her family. At the time, Plaintiff believed Defendant Warner and was compelled to keep following him.”
Along with the lawsuit speaking to these alleged actions at the hands of Marilyn Manson, the lawsuit also calls out his former labels, Interscope and Nothing Records, saying that the labels “were well-aware of Defendant Warner’s obsession with sexual violence and childhood sexual assault.”
The suit goes on to add, “At no time did Defendant Interscope and Defendant Nothing Records have a reasonable system or procedure in place to investigate, supervise, or monitor its staff and/or agents, including Defendant Warner, to prevent pre-sexual grooming and sexual harassment, molestation, and assault of fans, including minors and women.”
It also provides the following:
“Defendants Interscope and Nothing Records were aware of Defendant Warner’s practice of sexually assaulting minors, and aided and abetted such behavior. As a result of Brian Warner’s sexual abuse and assault, enabled and encouraged by Defendants Interscope and Nothing Records, Plaintiff has suffered severe emotional, physical, and psychological distress, including shame, and guilt, economic loss, economic capacity and emotional loss.”
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Jane Doe’s attorney, Jeff Anderson, says:
“This suit by this survivor is a giant step in bringing light and heat to an industry that has been hiding perils in plain sight. It’s time to face the music. New laws give survivors the time to take real action for justice and protection. Powerful new laws in New York and California give adult survivors the chance to take legal action against predators and those that protect and profit from them.
“We are grateful to the survivors and so many others who now align with us to expose the predators and those in the music industry that have … permitted, promoted, and profiteered from his violence against the vulnerable.”
Another attorney representing the plaintiff, Karen Barth Menzies of KBM Law, shared with Rolling Stone:
“This lawsuit goes beyond the named predator and targets the record labels that packaged and profited from their artist’s criminal behavior, and it is an indictment of the music industry for maintaining a culture that celebrates, protects, and enables sexual predators.”
We will keep you posted on details pertaining to this story as they arrive.
If you or someone you care about is suffering abuse at the hands of their partner, please contact RAINN or call 800.656.HOPE (4673). Remember: you are not alone.
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