#Marilyn Manson Facing Fourth Lawsuit for Sexual Assault

Marilyn Manson is being sued by the model and entertainer Ashley Morgan Smithline for sexual assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unlawful imprisonment, and more, as Rolling Stone reports and Pitchfork can confirm via online records. Smithline filed her lawsuit yesterday (June 29) in a California federal court. The model had previously alleged abuse from Manson in a February statement on Instagram; she also described Manson’s alleged abuse in a May interview with People. The allegations in the lawsuit largely reflect what Smithline had previously alleged on Instagram and to People.

According to the lawsuit, Smithline was first contacted by Marilyn Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, in the summer of 2010. Smithline alleges that Manson “developed an obsession with [her], telling her that she ‘was the perfect girl for him’ and demanding that she frequently send him pictures of herself.” Later in 2010, Manson allegedly flew Smithline to Los Angeles to work on a remake of the movie True Romance. At the film’s “studio,” which was apparently Manson’s apartment, Smithline says that she “was berated by [Manson] when she did not wear makeup and told to wear black lingerie, her ‘costume,’ while at the studio.”

Smithline says that she began “a consensual sexual relationship” with Manson after arriving in Los Angeles, but that “it quickly became apparent that consensual sex was not enough for [Manson].” She says that Manson sexually assaulted her twice in mid-November 2010. During the second alleged assault, according to the lawsuit, Manson “grabbed a knife next to the bed and began cutting Ms. Smithline’s shoulder, inner arm, and stomach. The cuts drew blood and caused Ms. Smithline to go into shock.”

Smithline says she was “forced to have sex with” Manson a few days after Thanksgiving 2010, too. Manson allegedly “held down Ms. Smithline by her shoulders and arms and forcibly penetrated her.” According to the lawsuit, Smithline “told [Manson] to stop several times and feared for her life.”

According to the lawsuit, Smithline flew to Los Angeles to see Manson “several times” between mid-November 2010 and January 2013. She says she continued to visit Manson “due to the severe mental duress caused by [Manson]’s abuse.” She also says that she “endured threats to her life while with [Manson] and suffered threats to her life when [Manson] felt she would leave him.”

Additional physical and sexual abuses allegedly occurred during the years that Smithline spent with Manson. According to the lawsuit, “Smithline deals with complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and panic attacks as a result.”

In additional to the allegations of physical, verbal, mental, and sexual abuse, Smithline is suing Marilyn Manson and his Marilyn Manson Records, Inc. label for violations of the Bane Act and/or violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.

Regarding the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, Smithline claims that “[Manson] employed fraud to bring Ms. Smithline to the United States from Thailand,” where she had been modeling in 2010 prior to her initial meeting with Marilyn Manson. According to the suit, “[Manson] encouraged Ms. Smithline to transition to acting from a career in modeling by promising work opportunities that never materialized.”

In addition, Smithline and her lawyer cite the Bane Act because, they say, “[Manson] interfered with Ms. Smithline’s civil rights regarding her religion and her right to be free from sexual discrimination and harassment.” Smithline, who is Jewish, was allegedly abused by Manson with Nazi paraphernalia.

When reached by Pitchfork, representatives shared the following statement from Ashley Morgan Smithline:

I said it before and I’ll say it again—I am not a victim, I am a survivor and my decision today to seek justice is me standing up to demand that my abuser be held accountable. My hope is that by coming forward and taking these necessary actions against Brian Warner, the world will see exactly who he is and for me it’s worth it if my actions prevent others from getting hurt.

In addition, Smithline’s lawyer Jay D. Ellwanger stated:

Ashley’s decision to pursue this case speaks volumes of her courage and bravery. I am inspired by her and proud to represent her as she continues to seek justice and to hold Brian Warner accountable.

A representative for Marilyn Manson told Rolling Stone, “We strongly deny Ms. Smithline’s claims. There are so many falsehoods within her claims that we wouldn’t know where to begin to answer them. This relationship, to the limited extent it was a relationship, lasted less than a week in 2010. Manson hasn’t seen Ms. Smithline since then.” A spokesperson for Manson previously gave a similar statement to People.

This past winter, Evan Rachel Wood and four other women came forward with abuse allegations against Marilyn Manson. The musician was quickly dropped from his label and cut from future scenes of the TV shows American Gods and Creepshow. Since then, Manson has been sued by Esmé Bianco for sexual assault and sexual battery, sued by his former assistant Ashley Walters for sexual assault, battery, and harassment, and sued by a former girlfriend who claims that he raped and threatened to kill her. Manson has continuously denied all claims of wrongdoing.

Back in February, it was reported that Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department was investigating domestic violence allegations levied against Manson. He also recently turned himself in on an October 2019 arrest warrant for two counts of Class A misdemeanor Simple Assault in New Hampshire.

In 2018, a sexual assault case brought against Manson in 2011 was publicly revealed. His lawyer at the time “categorically” denied the claims. It was also revealed that Manson faced allegations of battery and assault with a deadly weapon, but was not charged because California’s statute of limitations had expired.

Read Pitchfork’s “Tracing Marilyn Manson’s Blurred Lines Between Shock Rock and Alleged Abuse.”

If you or someone you know have been affected by domestic abuse, we encourage you to reach out:

The National Domestic Violence Hotline
http://thehotline.org
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:

RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
http://www.rainn.org 
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)

Crisis Text Line
http://www.facebook.com/crisistextline (chat support)
SMS: Text “HERE” to 741-741