Fourth sexual assault lawsuit filed against Marilyn Manson

TW: Rape, sexual assault, domestic violence

Marilyn Manson is facing the fourth sexual assault lawsuit filed against him, after model Ashley Morgan Smithline came forward with further shocking allegations.

Smithline previously detailed her claims against the singer – real name Brian Warner – in a May interview with People, claiming he raped her, cut her and locked her in a glass, soundproofed room.

“He kept telling me, ‘You can’t rape someone that you’re in love with’,” Smithline told the outlet.

“There’s a difference between waking up to someone having sex with you nicely in the morning and waking up tied up with someone having sex with your unconscious body, being tied up and screaming and not enjoying it, and him laughing, like, sadistically, or gagging my mouth or something.”

In the new lawsuit, filed in California and reported by Rolling Stone last night, Smithline is seeking damages for “sexual assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unlawful imprisonment, violations of the Bane Act, and/or violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act”.

Smithline alleges Warner “developed an obsession with [her]” after he contacted her first in 2010, “telling her that she ‘was the perfect girl for him’” and demanding she frequently send him pictures of herself”. She reportedly continued visiting Manson up until 2013 due to the “severe mental duress” Warner inflicted upon her, claiming he would “find her” and “kill her if she left him”.

After they entered into a consensual sexual relationship, Smithline alleged she awoke to find her wrists and ankles were tied and Warner was penetrating her vaginally.

“Ms. Smithline told Mr. Warner to stop and said no multiple times, and Mr. Warner told her to ‘shut the fuck up’ and ‘be quiet’. Mr. Warner also squeezed Ms. Smithline’s ribs, causing bruising and pain whenever she breathed that lasted for a week, as well as additional injuries to her vagina,” the suit reads.

In another incident, Smithline describes how Warner choked and forced her onto his bed. He then allegedly took a knife and cut her shoulder, inner arm, and shoulder, drawing blood and causing her to go into shock.

Elsewhere in the lawsuit, Smithline claims Warner bit her, threw a “Nazi knife” at her – Smithline is Jewish – burned her, branded her, and whipped her and posted photos of the bruises online.

“Ms. Smithline deals with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and panic attacks as a result. The scars left from Mr. Warner’s knife cuts are a daily reminder of the torment Ms. Smithline endured and survived,” the suit alleges.

A representative for Brian Warner told Rolling Stone the performer “strongly denies” the claims made in Smithline’s lawsuit.

“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,” a representative said.

Manson is currently facing similar lawsuits from Game of Thrones actor Esme Bianco, former assistant Ashley Walters and an anonymous ex-girlfriend identified as Jane Doe. Manson has repeatedly denied all charges against him.

In May, Manson said he would turn himself in for an unrelated arrest warrant for two counts of Class A misdemeanour simple assault. The counts related to a 2019 incident in which he is alleged to have spat at and shot snot at a photographer during a live gig in New Hampshire.

In February, actor Evan Rachel Wood and four others have detailed allegations of "horrific" sexual abuse and grooming against singer Marilyn Manson. Wood delivered a personal testimony before Congress three years ago about her experience with domestic violence by an unnamed ex partner. She recently confirmed that she was referencing 52-year-old Marilyn Manson.

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