On Monday, actor Evan Rachel Wood released a statement alleging that singer Marilyn Manson groomed her and “horrifically” abused her during their relationship. Wood had spoken about her experiences with domestic abuse and sexual assault within a former relationship in the past but had never before named her abuser. In the days since Woods came forward with the accusations against Manson, a number of other women have come forward about the abuse they experienced at the hands of Manson, including visual filmmaker Love Bailey, who accused Manson of putting a gun to her head while she was on a job.
Another alleged victim of Manson’s, photographer Ashley Walters, claims that the singer would “offer [her] up for sexual encounters to please potential collaborators” and that he isolated her from her loved ones and attempted to smear her professionally. Model Sarah McNeilly made similar claims, stating that she believes Manson “gets off on ruining people’s lives.”
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Manson’s ex-wife Dita Von Teese addressed the allegations against her former husband, saying that they were not reflective of her experience while in a long-term relationship with the singer:
“Please know that the details made public do not match my personal experience during our 7 years together as a couple. Had they, I would not have married him in December 2005.”
Von Teese continued on to wish healing and strength for all those who have experienced abuse, stating that “abuse of any kind has no place in any relationship.”
On Thursday, singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers also shared an anecdote about Manson on Twitter:
Bridgers followed it up with a second tweet saying: “The label knew, management knew, the band knew. Distancing themselves now, pretending to be shocked and horrified is fucking pathetic.”
She isn’t wrong.
It’s clear by now that there has been a plethora of evidence hinting at Manson’s alleged abusive patterns—hell, he’s literally admitted to abusive behavior himself during past interviews—but until now, it’s been largely ignored in favor of painting him as a controversial artist. But hey, it’s hardly the first time that a famous man’s history of abuse accusations has been overlooked because people like his art. [USA Today]
On Tuesday, a fantasy theme park in Pleasant Grove, Utah filed a lawsuit against Taylor Swift, claiming that she was infringing on their trademarked name, Evermore Park, with her recent album, also entitled Evermore. The suit claims that Swift’s album title has caused “actual confusion” and negatively impacted the search engine placement of the park, with some guests apparently assuming that the park was somehow related to Swift’s album rollout. Perhaps they were inexplicably thinking of Dolly Parton, the only celebrity smart enough to harness her own popularity to create a theme park.
Swift’s attorneys have ignored the cease and desist letter she received from the park in mid-December, saying “the Swift parties have consistently stylized references to the new album in a way that is entirely distinct” from the brand of the Evermore theme park. Evermore Park, which opened in 2018, advertises itself as a place where guests will be “immersed in a fantasy European hamlet of imagination,” which makes it sound like it’s located on the set of a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Swift’s attorneys also stated that Taylor Swift wasn’t threatening Evermore’s business because her website “does not sell small dragon eggs, guild patches, or small dragon mounts, and nothing could be remotely characterized as such.” Honestly, sounds like a missed opportunity—I know the Swifties would be all too eager to help their favorite singer-songwriter corner the market on small (presumably fake) dragon eggs. [NY Post]
- Gigi Hadid revealed that during her natural home birth, her boyfriend Zayn Malik caught their newborn baby. [People]
- Despite what their flirty Instagram posts might suggest, Kristin Cavallari and her new boo comedian Jeff Dye are apparently keeping things casual. [US Weekly]
- Orianne Cevey, the ex-wife of Phil Collins, auctioned off some of the singer’s gold records and other awards on Wednesday. [TMZ]