Marilyn Manson Denies Evan Rachel Wood's Claim He "Essentially Raped” Her While Filming 2007 Music Video

Evan Rachel Wood alleged that Marilyn Manson's "first crime" against her took place on the set of a 2007 music video, which she called a "really traumatizing experience." He denies the allegation.

By Lindsay Weinberg Jan 25, 2022 12:41 AMTags
Watch: Evan Rachel Wood Accuses Ex Marilyn Manson of Abuse

Content warning: This story discusses sexual assault and rape.

Nearly a year after accusing ex Marilyn Manson of abuse, Evan Rachel Wood has alleged that he "essentially raped" her while they filmed a music video together in 2007. 

In the two-part documentary Phoenix Rising, the first of which premiered on Jan. 23 at the Sundance Film Festival, Wood shared her alleged experience on the set of "Heart-Shaped Glasses" when she was 19 years old and he was about 38.

According to People, the Thirteen actress said she was "coerced into a commercial sex act under false pretenses." In Phoenix Rising, she alleged, "That's when the first crime was committed against me. I was essentially raped on-camera."

Manson, now 53, denied her accusations in a statement from his lawyer to E! News on Jan. 24. He said the rocker (real name Brian Warner) "did not have sex with Evan on that set, and she knows that is the truth."

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Wood, whose relationship with Manson was made public in 2007, said the shoot was "nothing like I thought it was going to be."

"We're doing things that were not what was pitched to me," she said. "We had discussed a simulated sex scene, but once the cameras were rolling, he started penetrating me for real. I had never agreed to that. I'm a professional actress, I've been doing this my whole life; I've never been on a set that unprofessional in my life up until this day."

(Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)

Wood, now 34, said she did not "feel safe" on set.

"No one was looking after me," she continued, per People. "It was a really traumatizing experience filming the video. I didn't know how to advocate for myself or know how to say no because I had been conditioned and trained to never talk back, to just soldier through."

The Westworld star said she felt "disgusting" and "shameful" afterward. She added, "I could tell that the crew was very uncomfortable and nobody knew what to do." 

On Jan. 24, Manson's attorney responded to her allegation in a statement to E! News. "Of all the false claims that Evan Rachel Wood has made about Brian Warner, her imaginative retelling of the making of the 'Heart-Shaped Glasses' music video 15 years ago is the most brazen and easiest to disprove, because there were multiple witnesses," his lawyer, Howard King, said.

The attorney said Wood was "fully coherent" during the three-day shoot and also "heavily involved" in the pre-production, planning and editing process of the video. 

He added, "The simulated sex scene took several hours to shoot with multiple takes using different angles and several long breaks in between camera setups." 

John Shearer/WireImage

Last year, Wood accused Manson of grooming her when she was a teenager and said he "horrifically abused me for years." She wrote on social media, "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 victims who will no longer be silent." 

Manson denied her abuse allegations at the time, saying his "intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual." He wrote in an Instagram statement, "Obviously, my art and my life have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality."

Los Angeles police announced last February that they were investigating abuse allegations against the musician. 

In November, detectives from the Special Victims Bureau of the L.A. County Sheriff's Department executed a search warrant at Manson's home in Los Angeles, taking items including "media storage devices," per a press release from the department.  

The release stated that the Special Victims Bureau is investigating allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault, which allegedly occurred between 2009 and 2011 in the West Hollywood area of L.A.

According to LAPD, there are no updates in the case following the search.

Phoenix Rising is expected to hit HBO Max in March.

For more information on domestic abuse or to get help for yourself or someone you love, visit the website for The National Domestic Violence Hotline (http://www.thehotline.org/) or call 1-800-799-7233.