Marilyn Manson has reached a legal settlement with a woman who accused him of raping her in 2011, ahead of the case going to trial.
Lawyers for the woman, an ex-girlfriend of the singer known in trial documents only as 'Jane Doe', filed a notice of settlement with the Superior Court of California on Wednesday (September 27). The case had been due to go to court in Los Angeles next week.
Her lawsuit, filed in 2021, alleged that, in 2011, Manson (Brian Warner) raped her, deprived her of food and sleep, and threatened to “bash her head in” if she reported this alleged abuse.
In a statement delivered to Rolling Stone, 'Jane Doe' admits that she was initially loathe to agree to a settlement.
“I was fully prepared for trial and never in a million years thought I would ever settle, but over the past two-and-a-half years I have silently endured threats, bullying, harassment and various forms of intimidation that have intensified over the past few weeks,” she states. “Marilyn Manson attended my deposition, and I was forced to answer seven hours of aggressive questioning with him staring at me from across the table. I’ve been told that this almost never happens, as it’s cruel, and that a main reason for it would be to intimidate and inflict emotional distress on a victim.
She adds: “I never cared about money and only ever wanted justice, but if we had gone to trial, I could have lost my right to anonymity and been victim-blamed on a large and public scale. Most importantly I could have risked losing the freedom to tell my story, and that is worth more than anything in the world.”
The terms of the settlement are not being made public.
Warner’s attorney, Howard King, says that the singer is “pleased” to have reached a settlement in the case.
“Brian is pleased that, just as previous lawsuits were abandoned without payment or settled for pennies on the dollar, this plaintiff has now agreed to drop her suit in exchange for an insurance payment representing a fraction of her demands and far less than the cost to Brian of proceeding to trial,” he said in a statement.
In January, Manson reached an agreement with Game of Thrones star Esmé Bianco over claims that he had raped her, battered her, and violated California's human trafficking laws. Manson had denied the allegations Bianco made against him.
Bianco's lawyer, Jay Ellwanger, told Rolling Stone, "Ms. Bianco has agreed to resolve her claims against Brian Warner and Marilyn Manson Records, Inc. in order to move on with her life and career."
