Los Angeles County officials announced on Friday that they had launched a domestic violence investigation against Gothic rock icon Marilyn Manson, following allegations made by ex-girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood.
In a brief statement, the LA County Sheriff’s Department said its special victim unit would review its actions in West Hollywood, California.
“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Special Victims Office is investigating allegations of domestic violence involving Mr. Brian Warner, aka” Marilyn Manson “, who works in the music industry,” said the sheriff’s department.
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“The incidents occurred between 2009 and 2011, when Mr. Warner lived in the city of West Hollywood.”
The small but prominent city of West Hollywood, which is in the shadows of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, hires the police for the department.
Three weeks ago, Wood, who testified before Congress about his experience with domestic and sexual violence, said she was “horribly” abused by Manson, her former partner.
In an Instagram post, the “Westworld” actor wrote that Manson “started preparing me when I was a teenager and terribly abused me for years”.
“I was brainwashed and manipulated until submission. I am tired of living in fear of retaliation, slander or blackmail, ”wrote Wood.
“I am here to expose this dangerous man and draw attention to the many industries that have enabled him, before he destroys more lives,” she added. “I am with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”
Wood, now 33, met Manson, 52, when she was a teenager and he was almost 30. They dated intermittently in the late 2000s and, in 2010, were briefly engaged. Wood married “Billy Elliot” star Jamie Bell in 2012, and they divorced in 2014.
A representative for the musician could not be reached for comment on Friday.
In an Instagram post following Wood’s allegations, Manson said: “Obviously, my art and my life have always been controversial magnets, but these recent statements about me are horrible distortions of reality. My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with people of same opinion partners. Regardless of how – and why – others are now choosing to distort the past, that’s the truth. “
