Last month, we got our first trailer for Phoenix Rising, the new HBO documentary about Marilyn Manson‘s alleged abuse of his former girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood. A big part of the documentary is how Wood’s story inspired others to come forward, both with their own personal abuse stories and with stories about Manson specifically. One such woman was Manson’s former assistant Ashley Walters, who claims that Manson bragged about raping women in front of her — and who now says that she tried to take part in Phoenix Rising, but was threatened with legal action by Manson’s lawyers.
As reported by Metal Hammer, Walters’ legal team has submitted an amended lawsuit against the singer, saying that their client was threatened with “retaliatory legal action” if she took part in the documentary. This comes after a January filing by Manson’s lawyers to have her suit thrown out on the basis of statute of limitations.
The amended suit says:
“Defendants should not benefit from [Manson’s] physically, emotionally and psychologically debilitating and threatening behavior by being permitted to use the statute of limitations as a shield.”
“While (Walters) could not recall many of the specific acts of intimidation, threats and coercion until Fall of 2020 or later, the compilation of numerous threatening and violent events instilled a constant state of fear of retribution and retaliation.”
I’m not a lawyer, a judge, or even a notary, but my assumption is that the “retaliatory legal action” comes from statute of limitations and/or Walters having signed some sort of document claiming that she’d maintain Manson’s privacy as his assistant. The former is some wack-ass bullshit that has helped shield emotionally-manipulative abusers for years; the latter is unfortunate, but is part of any hiring these days.
Meanwhile, this all comes after Manson sued Evan Rachel Wood for defamation, claiming she orchestrated a conspiracy against him and impersonated an FBI agent to forge a letter that condemned him. So it’s obvious Manson is ready to make a big public mess out of anything coming his way right now. That lawsuit is available to read online.
