Marilyn Manson has dropped his defamation lawsuit against his ex-fiancée, Evan Rachel Wood, after nearly two years of legal battles. The lawsuit, which Manson filed in 2022, alleged that Wood had made false claims about him in her accusations of abuse, which she had publicly shared in a 2021 documentary.
The decision to drop the suit comes after a settlement was reached, with Manson reportedly agreeing to pay a significant portion of the legal fees. The terms of the settlement have not been fully disclosed, but it’s understood that Manson will bear the brunt of the legal costs.
This marks the latest development in the highly publicized and contentious legal struggle between the two, who had been engaged in an on-again, off-again relationship before their split. Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, has faced numerous allegations of abuse from multiple women, which he has consistently denied. Wood, who has also faced her own share of scrutiny, has been a vocal advocate for victims of abuse throughout the ordeal.
The dismissal of the lawsuit ends this chapter of their legal drama, though both continue to be embroiled in the broader fallout from the accusations and their ongoing public battles.
Evan Rachel Wood’s legal team, including Michael Kump, Shawn Holley, and Katherine Kleindienst, revealed to Rolling Stone that Marilyn Manson attempted to reach a settlement with Wood during his appeal, which he filed in August. According to her lawyers, Manson offered a deal in which Wood would have to release a joint statement and keep all terms of the settlement confidential, in exchange for Manson covering a percentage of her legal fees. However, Wood declined the offer.
Ultimately, Wood’s legal team stated that Manson agreed to cover all of Wood’s litigation-related bills and, in return, dropped his defamation lawsuit. The resolution marks a conclusion to the two-year-long legal battle, with Manson assuming responsibility for the legal costs in a final settlement.
Evan Rachel Wood’s representative criticized Marilyn Manson’s defamation lawsuit as a “publicity stunt” aimed at undermining the credibility of his many accusers and revitalizing his career. The statement emphasized that Manson’s attempt to silence Wood failed, asserting that the court had found Manson’s claims to be meritless. “Warner’s decision to finally abandon his lawsuit and pay Ms. Wood her full fee award of almost $327,000 only confirms as much,” the rep added.
Manson originally filed the lawsuit in March 2022, just ahead of the release of Wood’s HBO documentary Phoenix Rising: Don’t Fall, which details her allegations of sexual and emotional abuse by Manson during their relationship from 2006 to 2010. In the suit, Manson accused Wood and artist Illma Gore of conspiring to smear him as a rapist and abuser, claiming it was an effort to sabotage his career.
Wood, in the documentary, recounted the abuse she endured and publicly named Manson as her abuser. Her Instagram post in February 2021 further revealed the emotional toll, stating that Manson had groomed her when she was a teenager and subjected her to years of manipulation and abuse. The documentary, released in March 2022, led to more than a dozen women coming forward with similar allegations against Manson.
In the aftermath, Manson’s legal battle with Wood has ended, with him agreeing to cover her legal fees and dropping the lawsuit, a move seen by Wood’s team as further confirmation that his claims lacked merit.
