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Marilyn Manson Denies Evan Rachel Wood’s Accusations That He ‘Essentially Raped’ Her

The denial comes after the airing of the first part of Wood's documentary at Sundance over the weekend
(Credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

On Sunday, the first part of Evan Rachel Wood’s new documentary, Phoenix Rising, aired at Sundance. In it, Wood said that Marilyn Manson “essentially raped” her on the set of a music video.

In a statement obtained by SPIN, Manson’s lawyer, Howard King, said that the artist, born Brian Warner, denies the accusations.

You can read that in full below.

“Of all the false claims that Evan Rachel Wood has made about Brian Warner, her imaginative retelling of the making of the “Heart-Shaped Glasses” music video 15 years ago is the most brazen and easiest to disprove, because there were multiple witnesses.

“Evan was not only fully coherent and engaged during the three-day shoot but also heavily involved in weeks of pre-production planning and days of post-production editing of the final cut.

“The simulated sex scene took several hours to shoot with multiple takes using different angles and several long breaks in between camera setups.

“Brian did not have sex with Evan on that set, and she knows that is the truth.”

In Phoenix Rising, Wood said that the experience was “traumatizing,” and claims even the crew was “uncomfortable.” She left the shoot feeling “disgusting” and that she “had done something shameful.”

“We’re doing things that were not what was pitched to me,” Wood said. “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 have been doing this my whole life, I’d never been on a set that unprofessional in my life up until this day. It was complete chaos, and I did not feel safe. No one was looking after me.”

Further, Wood also said Warner made it “really clear” how she should describe the experience.

The first showing of the two-part Amy Berg-directed documentary explores Wood’s family life and upbringing in addition her toxic relationship with Warner. The entire documentary is scheduled to air later this year.