Marilyn Manson files defamation suit against Evan Rachel Wood

Marilyn Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, filed a lawsuit against ex-fiancée, Evan Rachel Wood, Wednesday in Los Angeles, accusing her and Illma Gore of defamation and conspiracy. File Photo by Christine Chew/UPI
1 of 4 | Marilyn Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, filed a lawsuit against ex-fiancée, Evan Rachel Wood, Wednesday in Los Angeles, accusing her and Illma Gore of defamation and conspiracy. File Photo by Christine Chew/UPI | License Photo

March 3 (UPI) -- Marilyn Manson filed a lawsuit Wednesday against his former fiancée, Evan Rachel Wood, accusing the actress of defamation and conspiring to sabotage his career, according to documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Manson, the shock rocker who rose to fame in the 1990s and whose real name is Brian Warner, accuses Evan Rachel Wood, along with actor and artist Illma Gore, of manufacturing sexual abuse claims against him in order to profit.

The complaint also alleges Wood and Gore were responsible for hacking into his computer and social media accounts, and impersonating an FBI agent, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In the complaint, Warner asked for a jury trial as well as for Wood and Gore to stop the actions he is alleging.

The court filing shows Warner accuses both women of intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, violation of the Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act and impersonation over the Internet.

"This action arises from the wrongful and illegal acts done in furtherance of a conspiracy by Defendant Evan Rachel Wood and her on-again, off-again romantic partner, Defendant Ashley Gore, a/k/a Illma Gore, to publicly cast Plaintiff Brian Warner, p/k/a Marilyn Manson, as a rapist and abuser-a malicious falsehood that has derailed Warner's successful music, TV, and film career," the complaint reads.

Wood, 34, testified in 2018 in front of a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing about sexual abuse. At the time, she said she had been raped on two separate occasions, but did not mention the names of the men.

Wood dated Warner from the time she was 18 until she was 23. They were engaged for eight months in 2010.

She works with The Phoenix Act, a group of survivors advocating for greater legal protections for survivors of domestic violence.

Warner's lawyers allege the group is a front, created for leveling false accusations against the musician.

The complaint refers to Gore as "a grifter who understood that an organized attack on Warner -- spearheaded by Wood's own fabricated revelation of rape and abuse -- could benefit them both," according to the LA Times.

"With Gore's help, Wood could be rebranded, from someone who 'still might best be known for dating Marilyn Manson a decade ago,' into an outspoken standard bearer for victims of domestic violence or sexual assault -- thereby absolving her reputation for having a 'wild past' and her embarrassment for having been in a long-term relationship with Marilyn Manson," lawyer Howard King writes in the complaint and obtained by The Times.

Wood's two-part HBO docuseries Phoenix Rising is scheduled to air March 15 and 16.

It follows Wood as she speaks out about the abuse she alleges she endured in her relationship with Warner. The film chronicles Wood's political advocacy to increase the statute of limitations for domestic violence and sexual abuse.

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