Evan Rachel Wood Names Marilyn Manson as Her Alleged Abuser

Actress Evan Rachel Wood has claimed that Marilyn Manson abused her during the course of their relationship from 2007 to 2010. Wood first discussed being a survivor of rape and domestic violence in 2016, but in an Instagram post on Monday morning, she named Manson as her alleged abuser, writing, “He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years.”

“The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson,” wrote Wood in a statement released Monday morning on Instagram and provided to Vanity Fair. “I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”

Wood and Manson’s relationship lasted three years, from 2007 — when she was 19 and he was 38 — to 2010. The two became engaged in 2010, but broke up shortly after.

According to Variety, Wood first opened up about being an abuse survivor in an interview with Rolling Stone in 2016, and in recent years, she has acted as an activist for those causes. In 2019, Woods helped to create the Phoenix Act, a California bill that extends the statute of limitations on domestic violence cases from three years to five. When the Westworld star testified before the California Senate in support of the bill, she said that her abuser “had bouts of extreme jealousy, which would often result in him wrecking our home, cornering me in a room, and threatening me.”

“I mustered the courage to leave several times, but he would call my house incessantly and threaten to kill himself,” Wood told the legislators at the time. “On one occasion, I returned to try and defuse the situation, he cornered me in our bedroom, and asked me to kneel. Then he tied me up by my hands and feet. Once I was restrained he beat me and shocked sensitive parts of my body with a torture device called a violet wand. To him it was a way for me to prove my loyalty. The pain was excruciating. It felt like I left my body and a part of me died that day.”

Decider has reached out to Marilyn Manson’s representatives for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.

Wood’s allegation against Manson came just a few hours after the actor and musician starred in Starz drama American Gods. Manson appeared briefly in an episode earlier this season, but his character, Johan Wengren, was featured heavily in Sunday’s episode, Season 3, Episode 4, “The Unseen.” The actor was scheduled to appear in one upcoming episode of American Gods, but due to Wood’s allegation, Starz announced that it will be removing him from the episode before it airs. Manson’s character arc will now end in Episode 307, and he will not appear again in the series.

“Due to the allegations made against Marilyn Manson, we have decided to remove his performance from the remaining episode he is in, scheduled to air later this season,” said Starz in a statement provided to Decider. “Starz stands unequivocally with all victims and survivors of abuse.”

UPDATES 2/2/2021 AT 8 A.M. ET: This article has been updated to include comment from Starz.