Evan Rachel Wood has accused her ex-fiance Marilyn Manson of “grooming” her when she was a teenager and “horrifically” abusing her for years.
“The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson,” the “Westworld” star said in a statement posted to Instagram Monday. “He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. 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 shared responses to her post from other women, in which they accuse Manson of similar behavior, via her Instagram Stories.
Representatives for Manson did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on Wood’s accusations against the musician.
Wood, who is now 33, met Manson when she was 18 and he was 36. The two had an on-and-off relationship between 2006 and 2011, becoming engaged in 2010 before their eventual split.
In 2018, the Emmy-nominated actress testified before Congress in support of the passage of the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights in all 50 states, speaking about her own experiences with domestic abuse, without naming her abuser.
“My self-esteem and spirit were broken,” Wood said. “I was deeply terrified and that fear lives with me to this day. What makes me more hurt and more angry than the actual rape and abuse itself, was that piece of me that was stolen, which altered the course of my life.”
That same year, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to investigate a police report accusing Manson of unspecified sex crimes dating back to 2011, accusations that Manson’s team “categorically denied.” The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office cited statute of limitations and lack of corroboration as the reasons for declining to investigate.
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