Burlesque actress and performer Dita Von Teese responded to abuse allegations made against her ex-husband, Marilyn Manson, by actress Evan Rachel Wood and several others.
On Wednesday, Von Teese released a statement on Instagram supporting the musician’s accusers while “processing the news”. Von Teese and Manson were together for seven years and were married in December 2005.
“Know that the details made public do not correspond to my personal experience during our 7 years together as a couple,” wrote Von Teese. “If they did, I wouldn’t have married him … I left 12 months later because of infidelity and drug use.
“Abuse of any kind has no place in any relationship,” she added. “I urge those of you who have been abused to take steps to heal themselves and to have the strength to fully realize themselves.”
On Monday, Wood identified Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, as his alleged attacker in an effort to “expose this dangerous man and call on the many industries that enabled him, before he ruins more lives.”
When she was 19 and he was 37, Wood and Manson started dating publicly in 2007. They were briefly engaged in 2010 before breaking up in August of that year.
“He started to prepare me when I was a teenager and he abused me horribly for years,” the “Westworld” star said on Monday on social media. “I was brainwashed and manipulated until submission. I got tired of living in fear of retaliation, slander or blackmail. … I have many victims who will not remain silent. “
Others who accused Manson of misconduct this week include Sarah McNeilly, Ashley Lindsay Morgan, Ashley Walters, Charlyne Yi, Brittany Leigh and Scarlett Kapella, as well as two more whose Instagram display names are Torii and Gabriella.
Manson denied the charges earlier this week as “horrible distortions of reality”. In the wake of the controversy, the actor and singer was released by his label and talent agency (CAA), as well as removed from several TV series.
On Wednesday night, the LAPD answered a call at Manson’s residence. North Hollywood police conducted a welfare check at around 6:00 pm on block 3400 on Troy Drive in Studio City, but left after finding no evidence of a problem or crime, the LAPD confirmed Thursday morning to The Times.
In video of the incident obtained on Wednesday by TMZ, police officers can be seen arriving and ringing the property’s bell. TMZ reported that the police were able to contact a Manson representative, who confirmed that he was fine, but did not want to leave the house. The police left shortly after.
In a 2009 interview with Spin magazine that was widely shared after Wood performed, Manson said he told Wood that it was her fault that he was physically hurt after the breakup, and that his song “I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the films ”It was about him fantasizing“ every day about breaking her skull with a sledgehammer ”.
In a 2020 statement to the Metal Hammer music blog, Manson’s team conducted the interview, claiming that “the comments in Spin where Manson had a fantasy of using a sledgehammer on Evan and he cut himself 158 times was obviously an interview by a theatrical rock star promoting a new record, not a factual account. “
On Wednesday, Wood shared an anonymous quote on his Instagram page:
“Don’t ask why the victims wait so long to speak,” says the quote. “Ask what systems are in place to keep them quiet.”