Tony Ciulla, who has directed Marilyn Manson for the past 25 years, abandoned the shock rocker as a client, a source close to the situation confirmed Rolling Stone. The move comes after several women, including Manson’s actress and ex-fiancé Evan Rachel Wood, accuse Manson of sexual and physical abuse.
Ciulla started running Manson in 1996, the same year that the artist launched his breakthrough, Antichrist Superstar. He defended the singer, whose real name is Brian Warner, through a number of controversies – including criticisms that followed the musician after the Columbine shooting – and numerous lawsuits. Manson is subject to lawsuits by former band members over royalties disputes and alleged assaults on security personnel at concerts.
But Ciulla’s stance changed this week after Wood named Manson as the previously anonymous abuser she referred to when testifying before the California Senate over the state’s Phoenix Act, which extends the statute of limitations to domestic violence for three for five years (Ciulla declined to comment.)
“My attacker’s name is Brian Warner, also known worldwide as Marilyn Manson,” wrote Wood on Instagram Monday. “He started to prepare me when I was a teenager and he abused me terribly for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated until submission. I got tired of living in fear of retaliation, slander or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and summon the many industries that enabled him before he ruined more lives. I am with the many victims who will no longer be silent. ”Four other women presented similar stories in an article to Vanity Fair.
The consequences were everywhere for Manson. Loma Vista, the record label that released his most recent albums, broke ties with him, alongside his booking agent, CAA. After excerpts from Manson’s 1998 autobiography, The long and difficult road out of hell, appeared online and implicated Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails as a fellow abuser, Reznor also reiterated his disdain for Manson. “I have spoken openly over the years about my dislike for Manson as a person and I have cut ties with him for almost 25 years,” said Reznor. “As I said at the time, the Manson memoir passage is a complete invention. I was furious and offended when he left and continues to this day. “
Manson issued a statement earlier this week denying the charges against him. “Obviously, my art and my life have always been controversial magnets, but these recent statements about me are horrible distortions of reality,” he said. “My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how – and why – others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth. “