Phoenix Rising: Surviving Marilyn Manson

Warning: Contains graphic information on sexual and physical violence. All information has been taken from the Phoenix Rising documentary, with a few links to online video uploads. Underlined sentences are linked to other sources.

Evan Rachel Wood met Brian Warner, otherwise known as Marilyn Manson, in mid-2006, at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. Wood was 18 years old and Warner was 37. He approached her as a fan of her work and expressed interest in collaborating with her on his film project, Phantasmagoria, a creative adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s literary work. The two exchanged numbers, with Wood under the impression that it would be strictly work-related. 

She began going to his home regularly, under the guise of working on the script. While there, he would give her Absinthe. The two would drink and discuss matters unrelated to the script. While not a fan of his music, Wood developed a god-like impression of Warner, admiring his intelligence, eloquence, and honestly. She described herself as feeling lost and as needing a home, thus a “perfect candidate for grooming." 

Their first romantic interaction occurred the night before Wood was scheduled to leave to work on a movie. Warner placed his arm around Wood’s shoulders and said "I’m going to miss you.” He then aggressively kissed her. Inebriated on Absinthe, Wood described herself as remaining frozen due to shock. 

Their romantic relationship quickly developed. Wood broke up with her partner, Jamie Bell, and Dita Von Teese, Warner’s wife, filed for divorce. Warner would lovebomb Wood with love notes, telling her that she had “inspired [him] to make music again,” and “I can be Marilyn Manson again.” In 2007, when Wood was 19, they carved each other’s initials onto their bodies (scarification). Wood carved “MM” next to her vagina. Warner quickly isolated Wood from her family and friends, particularly through severing her relationship with her mother. 

Later in 2007, they filmed the music video for Heart Shaped Glasses. Warner had pitched the idea to Wood as a True Romance inspired video, for which the two were to film a stimulated sex scene. However, Warner loaded Wood with Absinthe during filming, and she became so inebriated to the point that she was unable to give consent to the unscripted acts which were taking place. While filming the sex scene, Warner forcibly penetrated her, raping her on camera. A crew member corroborated Wood’s account in Rolling Stone, stating “the crew was uncomfortable” and that Wood “seemed off and numbish.”I’ve attached a link to a petition to have the video removed from Youtube. 

Through the media coverage of their relationship and the video, Wood’s reputation in the film industry was tarnished through public ridicule and shame, which further isolated her from her peers. Warner’s abuse also increased steadily. He displayed extreme jealousy, and would become violent and destructive towards their property when accusing Evan of having affairs (note: pattern is very familiar to John Depp’s abuse of Amber Heard). Warner would hack into her computer to monitor her emails and messages. Wood, who is Jewish, also noticed Warner collecting more and more Nazi paraphanilia. Warner has notably displayed a long time obsession with Hitler and swastikas. Warner also wrote “kill all Jews” above Wood’s bedside wall. A video showcases Warner stating to Wood “answer me, for f*ck’s sake, or I’ll kill you." 

The first incident of physical violence occurred while Wood joined Warner on tour for eight months in 2008. While high on vicodin (prescribed for his throat), Warner aggressively dragged Wood into their hotel room and began destroying property. A crew member, Dan Cleary, has corroborated Wood’s account. While on tour, he saw Warner purposely embarrass, intimidate, and threaten severe violence to Wood until she was on the verge of tears, and stated that ”he broke her.“ He also attested to witnessing Warner abuse his current wife, Lindsay Usich.  

According to Evan, Warner’s abuse worsened upon Twiggy re-joining the band in 2008. He would torment Wood through humiliating and taunting her in front of others. He exerted control over her birth control and refused to wear condoms. He blackmailed her by drugging her and forcing her to take nude pictures, use racial slurs, and consume hard drugs while recording these incidents on video. According to Wood, he has used these tactics to prevent people from speaking out about the abuse, which prevented her from doing so.

Upon moving into their Glencoe residence, he began to torture and brainwash Wood using various tactics, which include: depriving her of sleep for several days; exposing her to freezing cold temperatures; and raping her in her sleep. He also secretly started putting meth into their drugs, as Wood noticed herself developing scabs all over her body, her nose was bleeding all the time, and she was constantly itchy and jittery. 

Evan left him for the first time in 2009, upon him ignoring her falling down a set of stairs and cutting her head open to go out with a friend. It was during this period that he gave a notorious Spin interview in which he stated ”every time I called her that day — I called 158 times — I took a razorblade and I cut myself on my face or on my hands“ and ”I have fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.“

Through threats of self-harm, he manipulated Evan into coming back to their residence to calm him down. Upon arriving, he whipped Evan while she knelt naked over a kneeler, targeting her genital area. She broke down sobbing in excruciating pain and begged for his forgiveness. He then made her drink his blood. Whenever Evan attempted to leave, he would lovebomb her, for which the abuse would resume. 

While filming the Mildred Pierce mini-series, Wood discovered she was pregnant. When she returned home after getting an abortion, he immediately told her to ”make [him] dinner.“Wood became increasingly suicidal and attempted suicide shortly afterwards. She described this as a cathartic experience and she started fighting back against Warner’s abuse. She escaped Warner for good when she left to go film The Ides of March.

Evan was diagnosed with severe PTSD a few years afterwards. She has since become an advocate for survivors’ rights. Her work through the Phoenix Act organizes to raise the California statute of limitations for domestic violence and sexual assault from 3 years to 10 years. In 2021, Wood named Warner as her abuser on Instagram.Several other women have come forward about Warner, including Esme Bianco,Sarah McNeilly, and Ashley Walters, who have accused him of sexual and physical assault. Singer Phoebe Bridgers has also come forward about Warner’s "rape room” and that his abuse was known to his record label, management, and band.Warner’smisogynisticviolence has been public for decades.He also wrote about violently physically abusing his own mother in his 1999 autobiography. 

Warner has denied all accusations of abuse. Taking notes from his good friend John Depp, in 2021 he sued Wood for defamation and is seeking a jury trial.Wood has received harassment and death threats from Manson fans, and was forced to leave her California home because of the threats Warner made to her and her son. Manson’s fans have created a similar Justice for Manson hashtag on social media websites, alleging Wood to have created a hoax with Amber Heard. Warner is still under investigation by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Bureau. 

Once more, here is the link to the petition have Heart Shaped Glasses removed from Youtube.

Believe survivors.