Marilyn Manson’s Ex, Rose McGowan, Releases Statement of Solidarity With Evan Rachel Wood
Scream star and Me Too movement leader Rose McGowan has released a video statement in which she praises Evan Rachel Wood for coming forward and leveling accusations of abuse against Marilyn Manson.
McGowan, like Wood, was once engaged to the shock rocker. That engagement lasted two years, from 1999 to 2001, before the couple split.
McGowan speaking out on Wood’s behalf is especially notable because this past November, after Manson abruptly ended an interview when they asked him about the allegations, reps for the vocalist subsequently released a statement in which they tried to clear Manson’s name, in part, by pointing out that he was still on good terms with McGowan — the implication being that McGowan wouldn’t be friends with Manson if Manson was an abuser. That defense no longer holds water.
The video of McGowan’s statement can be viewed below; the text is as follows:
“I am profoundly sorry to those who have suffered the abuse & mental torture of Marilyn Manson. When I say Hollywood is a cult, I mean the Entertainment industry including the music industry is a cult. Cult’s protect the rot at the top. Theirs is a sickness that must be stopped. The industrial fame complex chooses who they protect & who they’ll let be their victims. For profit. I stand with Evan Rachel Wood and all of those who have or will come forward. And please don’t pull out the ‘why did they take so much time to come forward?’ question that shames victims/survivors, it’s what stops others from coming forward. And to all of those who have covered for monsters, shame on you. Rise and say no more.”
Yesterday morning, Wood wrote a post on Instagram in which she said that Manson, her former fiancée, “horrifically abused me for years.” While she has implied in the past that Manson abused her, this was the first time she explicitly named the shock rocker.
Later in the day, Wood shared the stories of three more women — Ashley Lindsay Morgan, Sarah McNeilly, and Gabriella — who all also say that Manson abused them. She also shared testimony of two of Manson’s former assistants. One of them, Ashley Walters, says she was abused by Manson; the other, Dan Cleary, says he witnessed Manson’s abusive behavior towards others firsthand.
Manson’s label, Loma Vista, promptly dropped the singer and scrubbed their website of his likeness and merchandise. He has since been fired from acting roles on the tv shows American Gods and Creepshow, and his agency, CAA, is reportedly considering severing ties with him as well.
In a statement, Manson called the accusations “horrible distortions of reality.”
