Marilyn Manson’s Defamation Lawsuit Against Evan Rachel Wood Concludes

Marilyn Manson has dropped his lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood in which he was seeking to revive his defamation claim against the actress.

According to documents obtained by Rolling Stone, the musician has also agreed to pay $327,000 for Wood’s legal fees. This would seemingly bring to a close the ongoing litigation between Manson and his ex after he had filed a defamation suit while claiming fraud and conspiracy against Wood back in 2022.

About Manson’s Original Suit Against Wood

Marilyn Manson had filed the lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood in 2022, a little over a year after Wood had publicly named Manson as her abuser. In it, he named Wood and her partner Illma Gore claiming that they had committed fraud and developed a conspiracy to defame him.

The suit was filed just ahead of Phoenix Rising, a two-part documentary in which Wood detailed her allegations of rape and sexual abuse against the musician. After Wood’s initial naming of Manson as her abuser, multiple women followed with allegations against the singer.

READ MORE: A Timeline of the Abuse Allegations Against Marilyn Manson

Per Manson’s suit, he had alleged that Gore had made fake email addresses to impersonate him, that his computer and social media had been hacked and that threatening email exchanges had been perpetrated under his name.

But after a California judge dismissed a good portion of Manson’s lawsuit against Wood in May 2023, the singer was ordered to pay Wood’s legal fees in January 2024.

Back in August of 2024, it was revealed that Manson was attempting to revive the suit with claims that the actress had forged a letter from a real FBI agent that was designed to harm him.

Michael Kump, the attorney for Evan Rachel Wood, said in a statement at the time about the appeal, “Warner’s appeal simply rehashes the same meritless claims which the trial court threw out. As Ms. Wood testified under oath, she did not fabricate or forge the FBI letter.”

What Led to Manson Dropping the Suit

Kump, along with fellow attorneys Shawn Holley and Katherine Kleindienst, issued a statement that explained that Manson had sought to settle the lawsuit earlier this spring while at the same time appealing the judge’s ruling on the case.

They added that the singer’s initial offer was to pay a portion of Wood’s fees in return for keeping the settlement confidential. Wood rejected the offer, with her lawyers stating that she did not want confidentiality or the other terms.

“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. 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.”

“After four 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,” Warner’s attorney, Howard King, told Rolling Stone in a statement.

With Manson dropping the legal action against Wood, many of the legal actions have been resolved. However, in October, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón shared in a statement that prosecutors were assessing “new leads and additional evidence” that is continuing to come from the L.A. County Sheriff Department’s investigation and that “new evidence” has emerged within the last few weeks.

Marilyn Manson’s Return to Music

Manson made his return to music earlier this year. He played his first comeback show in August, taking a support slot on a date from Five Finger Death Punch’s summer tour.

READ MORE: Who Is In Marilyn Manson’s Live Band in 2024?

Also in August, Manson issued his first new song, “As Sick as the Secrets With,” marking his first release since the allegations were levied against him. In September, the singer announced a new album, One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1, that was released on Nov. 22.