Marilyn Manson Accused of Historic Sexual Abuse of a Minor

January 31, 2023

Content warning: This article discusses alleged sexual abuse of a minor.

Marilyn Manson is back in the news following fresh allegations of sexual abuse against a minor dating back to the 1990s. A lawsuit was filed against the artist in New York on Monday, 30th January, wherein a woman accused Manson of sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The woman, only identified in court documents as Jane Doe, was 16 when the incidents are alleged to have taken place, while Manson, whose legal name is Brian Hugh Warner, was 26. Manson’s record labels at the time, Interscope Records and its subsidiary Nothing Records, are also named in the suit.

News of the latest accusations against Manson was originally broken by Rolling Stone and later confirmed by Pitchfork.

Marilyn Manson Facing Fresh Claims of Sexual Abuse

EXCLUSIVE: Marilyn Manson allegedly groomed and sexually assaulted a minor multiple times in the 1990s, according to a new lawsuit. The woman is suing him for sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. https://t.co/aiqIYMkoct

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) January 30, 2023

According to the summons, Manson took the Plaintiff (Jane Doe) “and one of the other younger girls onto the tour bus” where he “performed various acts of criminal sexual conduct upon [Doe], who was a virgin at the time, including but not limited to forced copulation and vaginal penetration.”

The summons continues, “[Doe] was in pain, scared, upset, humiliated and confused. After he was done, Defendant Warner [Manson] laughed at her […] Then Defendant Warner demanded Plaintiff to ‘get the fuck off of my bus’ and threatened Plaintiff that, if she told anyone, he would kill her and her family.”

Jimmy Iovine’s Interscope Records and Trent Reznor’s 90s vanity label Nothing Records are also named as defendants in the lawsuit over claims that they actively aided and abetted Manson’s behaviour. The suit states that the record companies “knowingly, intentionally, wilfully, deliberately and recklessly fostered a pervasive and hostile environment for the purpose of financial gain that utterly disregarded the rights and safety of the band’s young fans.”

Doe’s lawyer Karen Barth Menzies of KBM Law told Pitchfork that sexual predators don’t act alone, and that their practices of abuse are aided by other complicit parties.

“In order for there to be meaningful changes in the music industry, we have to do more than just hold the predators accountable,” he said. “We have to force the record companies to acknowledge the crimes they allow to occur, and in some instances facilitate, and we have to force them to take responsibility for permitting and profiting from outrageous criminal behaviour.”

The new court case follows previous accusations against Manson, which we reported on here, here and here.