Marilyn Manson. Photo by LISA O'CONNOR/AFP via Getty Images
Marilyn Manson, the rock singer born Brian Hugh Warner, has settled a lawsuit filed in 2021 by a Jane Doe who accused the musician of raping her in 2011. The news was first reported by Rolling Stone; the publication obtained a notice of settlement filed with the Superior Court of California on Wednesday; Doe's Attorney Adam Wolf is expected to file a request dismiss the case in the next 45 days.
In her original suit, Jane Doe alleged that Manson raped and abused her in 2011, withholding food and sleep and threatening to “bash her head in” if she reported him. Manson denied the allegations.
Jane Doe issued the following statement to The FADER via her attorney:
I was fully prepared for trial and never in a million years thought I would ever settle, but over the past 2-and-a-half-years I have silently endured threats, bullying, harassment and various forms of intimidation that have intensified over the past few weeks.
Marilyn Manson attended my deposition, and I was forced to answer 7 hours of aggressive questioning with him staring at me from across the table. I’ve been told that this almost never happens, as it’s cruel, and that a main reason for it would be to intimidate and inflict emotional distress on a victim. I never cared about money and only ever wanted justice, but if we had gone to trial, I could have lost my right to anonymity and been victim-blamed on a large and public scale. Most importantly I could have risked losing the freedom to tell my story, and that is worth more than anything in the world.
If any other victims are reading this - please know that you are loved and supported even if it doesn’t feel that way, and that in spite of everything I’ve been through I don’t for one second regret speaking up.
"I am honored to have supported Ms. Doe," Adam Wolf told The FADER in a statement. "My law firm stands with those who bravely push back against misconduct in all forms, especially by high-profile, powerful men. We are dedicated to fighting for justice, no matter how long it takes. You are not alone."
Manson’s attorney Howard King offered the following statement to The FADER: “Brian is pleased that, just as previous lawsuits were abandoned without payment or settled for pennies on the dollar, this plaintiff has now agreed to drop her suit in exchange for an insurance payment representing a fraction of her demands and far less than the cost to Brian of proceeding to trial.”
Earlier this year, Marilyn Manson settled a sexual assault and battery lawsuit filed against him by Game of Thrones actress Esmé Bianco. A separate lawsuit filed against him by Ashley Morgan Smithline was dismissed, with Smithline recanting her allegations soon after. Manson's defamation lawsuit against his former partner Evan Rachel Wood, one of the first people to accuse Manson of abuse, was mostly dismissed this year by a Los Angeles judge. He faces accusations of “childhood and adult sexual abuse, sexual battery, assault and molestation” in a lawsuit filed in January in New York.
