Over a year after Evan Rachel Wood accused Marilyn Manson of sexual abuse, the rock star has filed a stunning defamation lawsuit against her.
Manson sued the Westworld actress in Los Angeles Superior Court for defamation on Wednesday, alleging her claim that he is a "rapist and abuser" is a "malicious falsehood" that has "derailed" his career, Variety reports. Wood came forward in February 2021 to allege Manson, whom she dated and was engaged to in 2010, "started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years."
But Manson now makes the shocking claim that Wood and her "on-again, off-again romantic partner," Ashley Gore, impersonated an FBI agent by "forging and distributing a fictitious letter from the agent, to create the false appearance that Warner's alleged 'victims' and their families were in danger, and that there was a federal criminal investigation of Warner ongoing." A copy of the alleged FBI letter published by TMZ shows that it says Wood is a "key witness in connection to a criminal investigation" involving a "well known public figure."
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The lawsuit additionally alleges Wood "provided checklists and scripts to prospective accusers," made "knowingly false statements" to these prospective accusers, hacked into Manson's computers and social media, and "created a fictitious email account to manufacture purported evidence that Warner was emailing illicit pornography," Deadline reports.
Wood's initial allegations against Manson prompted numerous other women to accuse him of sexual abuse and sue him. She has since discussed her claims in a documentary, alleging Manson "essentially raped" her on camera during the production of a music video. That documentary, Phoenix Rising, will debut on HBO later this month — and the lawsuit claims HBO was "duped into making a documentary based on false claims and fraudulent documents."
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