Marilyn Manson, born Brian Warner, has been facing a flurry of sexual abuse allegations from a number of women over the past few years – most notably including Evan Rachel Wood, Esmé Bianco, Ashley Walters, and Ashley Morgan Smithline. Despite the allegations, Manson has avoided going to trial.
On Thursday, one of those accusers – Smithline – filed a declaration in the court of law that described her previous allegations as ‘not true’ and ‘false.’ She went on to explain how she was ‘pressured’ and even ‘manipulated’ into accusing Manson of things that didn’t happen by several other accusers listed above.
“I succumbed to pressure from Evan Rachel Wood and her associates to make accusations of rape and assault against [Manson] that were not true,” says Smithline, who originally came forward in May 2021 – alleging sexual, emotional, and physical abuse during her brief relationship with Marilyn Manson.
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Smithline’s allegations were disturbing, to say the least, and included Manson forcibly raping her and even cutting her with a knife that contained a swastika symbol. She proceeded to go on a ‘press tour’ describing her accusations to anyone who would listen. Now, she’s revealing that it was all a farce.
In the new declaration, Smithline says she was contacted by several other accusers in 2020 and urged to attend a meeting with those accusers, in which they talked about their past abuse. They asked Smithline if Manson had ever abused her, and while she denied having that experience, they didn’t believe her.
According to Smithline, the accusers insisted that she was repressing her memories of the trauma she faced and that ‘just because she could not remember’ the sexual abuse doesn’t mean ‘that it did not happen.’ Over time, Smithline started to believe them and ultimately came forward at their request.
“I was asked whether [I] was repressing memories to just get through day-to-day life and whether it was easier just to not think about what actually happened than accept reality. They also said it was important for people to come forward so that no one else gets hurt,” said Smithline in her declaration on Thursday.
Ashley Morgan Smithline Didn’t Even Write Her Original Statement
On February 1, 2021, Ashley Morgan Smithline took to Instagram and posted a statement – where she named Marilyn Manson as her abuser for the very first time. At the time, it was a groundbreaking statement that was followed by more accusers coming forward. In hindsight, she didn’t even write it.
In her declaration, she accused Illlma Gore – the girlfriend of Evan Rachel Wood – of drafting and posting that statement on her behalf. This came shortly after Smithline started to believe what the accusers were telling her. Smithline also alleged that the formal complaint filed in court was written by her attorney without her permission.
Last week, Smithline contacted Marilyn Manson’s attorney – Howard King – and their team to apologize for her allegations and explained to them what she has now explained in the declaration. King went on to add that she has not received any compensation from Manson, and she isn’t seeking anything anymore.
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“Looking back, I feel I was manipulated by Ms. Wood, Ms. Gore, Ms. Bianco, and Mr. Ellwanger to spread publicly false accusations of abuse against Mr. Warner,” she concluded – adding that she has ‘no intention of refiling any lawsuit.’ Her original lawsuit was dismissed last month after her legal counsel left.