Marilyn Manson Drops Defamation Lawsuit Against Evan Rachel Wood

Mar. 15, 2025

Marilyn Manson arrives arrives at ‘The Art Of Elysium’s 13th Annual Celebration - Heaven’ at Hollywood Palladium on January 04, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.; Evan Rachel Wood attends The Roku Channel - US Premiere Of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Brooklyn on November 01, 2022 in Brooklyn, New York.Photo: Kurt Krieger/Corbis/Getty; Slaven Vlasic/Getty

Marilyn Mansonhas dropped his defamation lawsuit againstEvan Rachel Woodtwo years after filing.

“After 4 years of fighting a battle where he was able to tell the truth, Brian is pleased to dismiss his still-pending claims and appeal in order to close the door on this chapter of his life,” Manson’s attorney Howard King tells PEOPLE in a statement.

A rep for Wood said in a statement to PEOPLE:“Marilyn Manson — whose real name is Brian Warner — filed a lawsuit against Ms. Wood as a publicity stunt to try to undermine the credibility of his many accusers and revive his faltering career."

They added, “But his attempt to silence and intimidate Ms. Wood failed,” a rep for Wood said in a statement. “As the trial court correctly found, Warner’s claims were meritless. Warner’s decision to finally abandon his lawsuit and pay Ms. Wood her full fee award of almost $327,000 only confirms as much.”

Manson sued Woodin March 2022, a year after she publicly accused Manson of sexually abusing her during their on-again, off-again relationship, which started when Wood was 18.

In his complaint, he alleged that Wood and her “romantic partner” Illma Gore coerced women into making the accusations against him. He also alleged they pretended to be FBI agents to make the women believe their families were in danger. Wood was one of at least 15 women who accused Manson of sexual assault.

He denied the allegations in his defamation lawsuit, calling them “horrible distortions of reality.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Wood, who dated Manson from mid-2006 to early 2011,named Manson as her alleged abuserin February 2021. In HBO’sPhoenix Risingdocumentary, she alleged he “essentially raped” her on camera while filming a music video in 2007.

“It’s nothing like I thought it was going to be,” Woodsaidof the music video. “We’re doing things that were not what was pitched to me. … We had discussed a simulated sex scene, but once the cameras were rolling, he started penetrating me for real. I had never agreed to that. I’m a professional actress, I’ve been doing this my whole life; I’ve never been on a set that unprofessional in my life up until this day.”

source: people.com