Trent Reznor issued a statement denouncing his former friend and collaborator Marilyn Manson, as Pitchfork reports. Her statement comes in the wake of claims by Manson’s ex-partner Evan Rachel Wood that Manson prepared and abused her during the course of their relationship. After Wood’s statement on Monday morning, at least four other women made similar charges.
After news of the accusations surfaced, a story involving Reznor that appears in Manson’s 1998 autobiography, The long and difficult road out of hell, resurfaced. In it, Manson claims that he and Reznor sexually and physically assaulted a drunk woman in the 1990s. The passage was supposedly part of an unpublished interview with Empyrean Magazine.
“I have spoken openly over the years about my dislike of Manson as a person and I have severed relations with him for almost 25 years,” said Reznor in a statement via Pitchfork. “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. “
In a 2009 interview with Mojo, Reznor called his ex-protégé Manson “a stupid clown”. “He is a malicious guy and will step on anyone’s face to succeed and cross any line of decency,” said Reznor. “Seeing him now, drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he has become a stupid clown.”
Following allegations of abuse, Manson was released by his record label and booking agent. On Monday night, Manson denied the accusations, writing on Instagram, “My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with partners of similar minds. Regardless of how – and why – others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth. “