Marilyn Manson is dropping a lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood accusing her of manufacturing a conspiracy to portray him as a serial abuser who has sexually assaulted several women.
As part of the settlement, Manson will pay roughly $327,000 in legal fees to the Westworld star, according to court documents filed earlier this month.
At the center of the dispute were allegations that Wood and her friend Illma Gore lied to prospective accusers to encourage them to come forward with sexual assault allegations against the musician, namely by saying that he filmed the assault of a minor in a 1996 short film he made called Groupie.
Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, sued the pair in 2021 ahead of the premiere of HBO documentary Phoenix Rising, which explores sexual assault allegations against the musician and Wood’s efforts to pass legislation that extends the statute of limitations for domestic violence cases in California. He alleged that they recruited and pressured women to simultaneously emerge with allegations of rape and abuse against Warner to boost Wood’s career. To convince the accusers, Gore told them that the actress in Groupie was a minor at the time of the shoot, was dead and that Warner would be indicted if the video was released, according to the complaint.
Last year, the court dismissed defamation claims against Wood under a law providing for the early dismissal of lawsuits arising out of protected speech. The court found that Manson didn’t prove that Wood agreed with Gore’s allegedly defamatory statements, or that she was aware that Gore planned to defame the musician.
Manson appealed but sought earlier this year to settle the lawsuit, offering to pay a portion of Wood’s legal fees in exchange for keeping the settlement terms confidential and Wood agreeing to make a mutually acceptable public statement, according to lawyers representing the actress. She declined, with Manson ultimately agreeing to drop the case.
“After 4 years of fighting a battle where he was able to tell the truth, Brian is pleased to dismiss his still-pending claims and appeal in order to close the door on this chapter of his life,” said Howard King, a lawyer for Manson.
In a statement, Michael Kump, a lawyer for Wood, called the lawsuit a “publicity stunt to try to undermine the credibility of his many accusers and revive his faltering career.” He added, “As the trial court correctly found, Warner’s claims were meritless. Warner’s decision to finally abandon his lawsuit and pay Ms. Wood her full fee award of almost $327,000 only confirms as much.”
Source: Hollywoodreporter
