Evan Rachel Wood Details Ongoing Harassment After Marilyn Manson Abuse Allegations

Actress Evan Rachel Wood says she continues to face harassment years after publicly accusing ex-partner Marilyn Manson of sexual abuse and grooming when she was a teenager. Manson, whose birth name is Brian Warner, has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Wood detailed the ongoing harassment in an interview with The Times of London, published on Friday. She first went public with the accusations in 2021 via an Instagram post, but noted she was unable to pursue legal action due to the statute of limitations.

"He controlled when I slept, what I wore and when I ate. He would have his assistants follow me around and send him photos of what I was doing so he knew where I was."

She also described Manson’s inner circle as operating "very much like a cult," alleging that it provided him with extensive support. "You’re up against an entire system — which makes it twice as hard to leave and twice as scary to speak out," she said. Wood participated in the documentary The Narcissist’s Playbook, which explores similar dynamics.

In the new interview, Wood alleged that members of Manson’s circle attempted to blackmail her. Despite their breakup 15 years ago, she described ongoing harassment:

"I still get followed by cars. I still have phishing attempts on my computer. I still have numbers calling me over and over again."

A representative for Manson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.

In her 2021 Instagram statement, Wood wrote:

"The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson. He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent."

Manson responded at the time with a statement claiming his past relationships were "entirely consensual with like-minded partners" and that others were "misrepresenting the past."

The couple met when Wood was 18 and Manson was in his late 30s. They dated intermittently from 2006 to 2011, including an engagement in 2010. Wood testified before Congress in 2018 in support of the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights, advocating for protections in all 50 states.

Reflecting on the abuse, Wood said years before naming Manson as her alleged abuser:

"My self-esteem and spirit were broken. I was deeply terrified and that fear lives with me to this day. What makes me more hurt and more angry than the actual rape and abuse itself, was that piece of me that was stolen, which altered the course of my life."