Marilyn Manson decides to dismiss defamation lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood

Marilyn Manson has dropped a lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood, where she was accused of fabricating a conspiracy to paint him as a serial abuser who has sexually assaulted multiple women. As part of the settlement, Manson will pay around $327,000 in legal fees to Wood, as detailed in court documents filed recently.

The dispute revolved around allegations that Wood and her friend Illma Gore misled potential accusers to come forward with sexual assault claims against Manson. This included claims that he filmed the assault of a minor in a 1996 short film titled Groupie. Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, filed the lawsuit in 2021 ahead of the premiere of the HBO documentary Phoenix Rising, which delves into sexual assault allegations against him and Wood’s advocacy for extending the statute of limitations for domestic violence cases in California.

Wood was initially dismissed from defamation claims under a law protecting free speech, with the court finding that Manson failed to prove her involvement in Gore’s defamatory statements. Despite appealing the decision, Manson later offered to settle the lawsuit by paying a portion of Wood’s legal fees in exchange for confidentiality and a mutually agreeable public statement. Wood declined the offer, leading Manson to ultimately drop the case.

Manson’s lawyer, Howard King, stated that Manson is happy to dismiss the claims and appeal to move on from this chapter of his life. Wood’s lawyer, Michael Kump, described the lawsuit as a publicity stunt to discredit Manson’s accusers and revive his career. He emphasized that the court’s dismissal of Manson’s claims confirmed their lack of merit, with Manson eventually agreeing to pay Wood’s legal fees of nearly $327,000.



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