LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California judge on Tuesday threw out key sections of Marilyn Manson’s lawsuit against his ex-girlfriend, “Westworld” actor Evan Rachel Wood, alleging that he made up public allegations that he sexually and physically abused her during their relationship and encouraged other women to do the same.
Manson’s lawsuit, filed last year, alleges that Wood and another female named defendant, Illma Gore, defamed Manson, intentionally caused him emotional distress and derailed his career in music, TV and movie. It says they used false pretenses, including a fake letter from the FBI, to convince other women to come forward with allegations of sexual abuse and coach them on what to say about Manson, which is legal whose name is Brian Warner.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Teresa A. Beaudet dismissed the portion of the lawsuit involving the disputed FBI letter, which Wood denied was a forgery. Beaudet also tossed out a section that says Wood and Gore used a checklist found on an iPad for other women to use to make abuse claims about Manson.
The judge did not rule on the merits of the FBI letter, but found that evidence that the defendants used it to recruit other women and harm Manson was hypothetical and flimsy. Evidence that Wood and Gore created the checklist was also lacking, Beaudet found. He said the likelihood of Manson prevailing on either side was low.
Beaudet’s decision relied on California law meant to protect defendants’ free speech from being squeezed by lawsuits.
“We are very pleased with the Court’s decision, which affirms and protects Evan’s exercise of his fundamental First Amendment rights,” Wood’s attorney Michael Kump said in a statement. “While the Court correctly found, Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that her claims against him have even the slightest merit.”
Manson’s attorney said he plans an immediate appeal.
“The decision is disappointing but not unexpected,” Manson’s attorney Howard King said in an email. “The Court set this outcome when it refused to consider the sworn declaration of former plaintiff Ashley Smithline, who detailed how women Evan Rachel Wood and Illma Gore were systematically coerced into making false statements about Brian Warner.”
Other parts of the lawsuit remain because they are not subject to Wood’s motion, including allegations that Gore hacked Manson’s email, phone and social media accounts, created a fake email to produce evidence that he was sending illegal pornography, and “slapped” him, using a prank call to send authorities to his home – all done with Woods’ approval.
Several women have sued Manson in recent years with allegations of sexual and other abuse. Most were dismissed or settled, including a lawsuit filed by “Game of Thrones” actor Esme Bianco.
And police and prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into Manson more than two years. In September, prosecutors said they needed more evidence from detectives before deciding whether to charge him. The women involved have not been identified.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they were sexually abused unless they go public.
In 2017, as the #MeToo movement gained momentum, Wood said she had been raped and abused, and she gave testimony to a Congressional committee in 2018, both of which named no one. Then in an Instagram post in February of 2020, Wood named Manson, saying he “horribly abused me for years.” The two announced they were married in 2007, and were briefly engaged in 2010 before splitting. An HBO documentary on the allegations aired in March.
Manson’s lawsuit alleges that Wood only had nice things to say about Manson during their relationship, and that she did not say anything about his abuse of her for 10 years until she met Gore, an artist who the lawsuit describes as Wood’s on-again, off-again romantic partner.
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This story has been updated to correct the details of Wood’s motion to dismiss.
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton
