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Marilyn Manson Sued for Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking by Ashley Morgan Smithline

Marilyn Manson
(Photo: Leon Bennett / WireImage)

In May, model Ashley Morgan Smithline accused Marilyn Manson of “terrifying sexual abuse” in an interview with People. On Wednesday, Smithline became the fourth person to sue Manson. Smithline alleges sexual assault and human trafficking, similar to what Game of Thrones actress Esme Blanco alleged in a suit of her own in April.

In the suit, which was initially reported by Rolling Stone, the allegations are similar to what Smithline outlined in the People interview. Smithline alleges that she first connected with Manson in 2010 with the promise of casting her in a film, which would have been a remake of True Romance. She moved from Bangkok, where she was modeling at the time, to Los Angeles, where he lived.

“Mr. Warner knew these offers to be fraudulent. No effort was made to complete production of the film project, and to date, nothing from that project has been published,” the suit alleges. “Mr. Warner merely used the film project as a pretense to lure Ms. Smithline to the United States.”

According to the suit, the relationship went south after that, with Manson allegedly berating Smithline in front of bandmates. She said that he carved his initials, “M.M.” into her thigh. Smithline also alleges that Manson threw a Nazi knife at her, whipped, shook and strangled her.

“Through his physical, emotional, and verbal abuse, Mr. Warner exercised total control over Ms. Smithline, to the point that Ms. Smithline became powerless and brainwashed by Mr. Warner … Ms. Smithline was forced to watch clips of movie scenes depicting gruesome suicides and child pornography. This was so intense it left Ms. Smithline wondering if Mr. Warner wanted her to kill herself. Again, this was intentional conduct motivated by Mr. Warner’s sexual desires,” the lawsuit said.

“We strongly deny Ms. Smithline’s claims,” a spokesperson for Manson told SPIN. “There are so many falsehoods within her claims that we wouldn’t know where to begin to answer them. This relationship, to the limited extent it was a relationship, lasted less than a week in 2010. Manson hasn’t seen Ms. Smithline since then.”

In addition to Blanco and Smithline, Manson’s former personal assistant Ashley Walters and an unnamed accuser have sued the shock rocker.

Last week, we reported that Manson is going to turn himself in to the LAPD due to charges he’s facing in New Hampshire after allegedly assaulting a videographer in 2019.