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Marilyn Manson accused of sexually abusing and grooming underage fan

Marilyn Manson rock music rape sexual abuse allegations - Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Marilyn Manson rock music rape sexual abuse allegations - Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

Marilyn Manson has been accused in a new lawsuit of sexually abusing an underage fan at the height of his career in the Nineties.

The accuser, who filed the suit in New York under the pseudonym Jane Doe, is also suing the rock star’s former record labels, claiming they supported his “desire to expose children across America to sexual themes”.

Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, is listed as a defendant alongside Interscope and Nothing Records.

He is widely considered as one of the most controversial figures in rock music. In 2021, multiple women – including Evan Rachel Wood, the actress and his former fiancee – accused him of psychologically and sexually abusing them, allegations he denied.

In the lawsuit, Jane Doe said she first encountered Warner in 1995 after a Dallas concert when she was 16.

She had waited outside his tour bus with a group of people to meet him, and Warner allegedly invited her “and one of the other younger girls” onto his bus where he asked their age and school grade.

She alleged that at least one of his bandmates watched him rape her and that she “was in pain, scared, upset, humiliated and confused”.

Marilyn Manson with Evan Rachel Wood - Eric Charbonneau/WireImage for Disney Pictures
Marilyn Manson with Evan Rachel Wood - Eric Charbonneau/WireImage for Disney Pictures

The lawsuit said: “After he was done, Defendant Warner laughed at her… Then Defendant Warner demanded Plaintiff to ‘get the f--- off of my bus’ and threatened Plaintiff that, if she told anyone, he would kill her and her family.”

Doe continued her contact with Warner and his band for years. He allegedly convinced Doe, who was still 16, to travel to a New Orleans concert where she met with him, who, the suit said, “groomed” her by complimenting her artwork.

“Defendant Warner then became more aggressive and again sexually assaulted Plaintiff, including kissing, biting her breast, oral copulation, and penetration,” the complaint said.

She also alleged that his record labels “were well aware of Defendant Warner’s obsession with sexual violence and childhood sexual assault”.

The lawsuit pointed to Manson’s 1994 album Portrait of an American Family, which they said has themes of childhood, rape and sodomy. One song, Snake Eyes and Sissies, borrowed lyrics written by Charles Manson, the murderer: “I am the pedophile’s dream, a messianic Peter Pan.”

It also alleged they attempted to include a naked photograph of Warner as a child in the insert for the album.

‘Record labels failed to prevent grooming’

Representatives for Interscope and Universal Music Group, its parent company, did not respond to requests for comment. Warner is yet to respond.

Doe alleged that Interscope and Nothing should have safeguarded her from their client’s alleged behaviour.

The lawsuit said: “At no time did Defendant Interscope and Defendant Nothing Records have a reasonable system or procedure in place to investigate, supervise, or monitor its staff and/or agents, including Defendant Warner, to prevent pre-sexual grooming and sexual harassment, molestation, and assault of fans, including minors and women.

“Defendant Interscope and Defendant Nothing Records were well aware of Defendant Warner’s obsession with child pornography and pedophilia and his desire to expose children across America to sexual themes.

“Defendant Interscope had the ability to stop Defendant Warner from including images and symbols of children, violence and sexual deviance in Marilyn Manson albums and merchandise, but chose not to.”