A member of the band due to open for Marilyn Manson at three upcoming shows has responded to the backlash against the gigs in now-deleted comments.
In March, Manson announced his first live dates since a series of sexual abuse allegations emerged against him, opening for Five Finger Death Punch on a run of North American dates in August and September. Manson denies all of the allegations.
Added to those are three headline shows, for which the band The Funeral Portrait will serve as the opening act.
That band became the subject of criticism for accepting the gigs, and their bassist Robert Weston took to X to address the backlash (via Loudwire).
Marilyn Manson attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 09, 2020. Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/GETTY
“I’m sorry my band that has consistently played 200 cap venues for 7 years + has a chance to open shows in front of thousands of people and people wanna be upset by it,” he wrote, before swiftly deleting the post.
“If you truly know the people we are and you know the grind we’ve been on, you wouldn’t be made,” he added. “If what we are doing isn’t affecting your life personally, then why get mad about it? You weren’t a fan before, and that’s fine. No one is forcing anyone to go to these shows.”
A raft of sexual abuse allegations were levelled against Manson in February 2021, including by his ex-fiancée Evan Rachel Wood, who made allegations of rape, torture, and threats. Separate claims of abuse from more than 12 women have also been made.
Numerous lawsuits have ensued since, with Manson consistently denying the allegations.
In March 2022, Manson brought a defamation case against Wood but the case’s key claims were dismissed last May.
In January, he was ordered to pay Wood’s legal fees of roughly $326,000. In addition, it was reported in February that Manson will pay the legal fees of artist Illma Gore, who is named as a second defendant and described as Wood’s “on-again, off-again romantic partner” in his defamation lawsuit.
Gore is reportedly owed over $160,000, bringing Manson’s total to nearly $500,000. The reimbursements were awarded under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which says that defendants unfairly sued for their freedom of speech can have their attorney’s costs paid for by the plaintiff.
Other accusers include Game of Thrones actress and former girlfriend Esme Bianco and ex-girlfriend Ashley Morgan Smithline. The lawsuit filed by Smithline has since been dismissed, while Manson denied Bianco’s claims as “meritless” and settled with her in January 2023.
He was also accused by someone only known as Jane Doe in September 2023 – however, her case was settled a week ahead of going on trial.
Marilyn Manson performs live in 2019. CREDIT: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Last September, he reached a private settlement with a Jane Doe plaintiff who alleged he raped her in 2011. Elsewhere, last month his former assistant Ashley Walters won a critical appeal that revived her case which was originally dismissed last year. In her suit, she alleges that Manson sexually assaulted her, whipped her, and threw her against a wall during a drug-induced rage.
Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Zoltan Bathory recently gave an update on Manson’s state of mind in an interview on The Jesse Lea Show (via Metal Injection). “Manson hasn’t been out on the road for a while, so a lot of people wanna see him. At one point he was one of the most iconic artists on planet earth. So he’s back on stage, back in the saddle. That’s gonna be amazing. He’s also sober and clean, so we always support that, obviously.”
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.
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