Marilyn Manson fined for spitting on a camerawoman
The musician will serve 20 hours of community service for his behavior at a 2019 concert.
Marilyn Manson has been fined for spitting on a camerawoman at a 2019 live show in Gilford, New Hampshire. Manson, 54, will pay $1400 for the midemeanor and must also carry out 20 hours of community service in Calfironia, where he lives.
Manson, real name Brian Warner, was in court on Monday where he spoke only to confirm his name and to state that he understood the sentence. Prior to the case reaching trial he had pleaded not guilty but changed the plea to no contest, meaning he was not required to admit guilt.
The incident at the center of the trial happened on August 19 as photographer Susan Fountain took pictures at Manson's Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion show. The police investigator explained during the trial that Manson had spat a "big lougee" at her before returning to where she was standing, blocking one of his nostrils, and blowing a "significant amount of mucus" on to her. Manson is reported to have pointed and laughed as he walked away to continue the concert.
In a statement read in court, Fountain said, "I've never been humiliated or treated like I was by this defendant. For him to spit on me and blow his nose on me was the most disgusting thing a human being has ever done."
In January, a California court dismissed a sexual assault lawsuit filed by his former partner Ashley Morgan Smithline; Esmé Bianco’s federal sexual assault suit against him was settled out of court, and a new suit was presented detailing allegations of child sexual abuse dating back to the ’90s. Later in the spring, an L.A. judge dismissed most of Manson’s defamation lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood.