Evan Rachel Wood details alleged rape by Marilyn Manson on music video set

Posted On January 15, 2025January 15, 2025

Actor Evan Rachel Wood has further spoken about the abuse she experienced at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, Brian Hugh Warner, better known as Marilyn Manson, claiming that she “felt so fucking violated.”

The star, who rose to prominence as a teenager after starring in the movie Thirteen, has opened up about Warner’s alleged abuse in the past. Now, in the new Channel 4 documentary Marilyn Manson Unmasked, she explains the betrayal and embarrassment she felt after shooting an intimate scene for his music video, ‘Heart Shaped Glasses’.

Wood began dating Warner when she was 19, shortly after he divorced his wife, Dita Von Teese. The pair had met the year before, with Wood sharing in the documentary that she didn’t expect him to have feelings for her because he was a “well-established, much older man.” Warner was around 38 at the time.

The pair dated for three years, even getting engaged at one point. However, in 2021, Wood claimed that Warner was her former abuser on Instagram. She wrote, “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.”

Her claims included multiple counts of rape, grooming, and manipulation. In 2022, Warner filed a lawsuit against Wood accusing her of defamation before dropping it two years later and offering to pay for her legal bill.

This story contains content that readers may find disturbing, including graphic allegations of sexual assault.

Wood explained her experience of shooting ‘Heart-Shaped Glasses’ in the new documentary, revealing that the singer had told her that the sex scene would be shot in a manner that would make it look like a “blur” in the actual video.

She didn’t expect him to allegedly become “aggressive” and take off her clothes in front of the crew members, stating, “I was just kind of sitting on the bed naked just crying. I felt so fucking violated. But I didn’t call it rape for like many, many years.”

This isn’t the first time she has discussed the incident, alleging in the documentary Phoenix that Warner actually penetrated her without her consent during filming. She claimed, “That’s when the first crime was committed against me and I was essentially raped on camera.”

In Marilyn Manson Unmasked, the singer’s lawyer, Howard King, dismisses Wood’s claims that she was raped. “None of those people [the crew] have come forward and said they witnessed this act. It is completely fabricated, and there is not a witness who will support it.”

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.

Related Topics