Marilyn Manson settles 2021 rape lawsuit filed by Jane Doe

Marilyn Manson is sitting in a courtroom, looking to the left with a serious face while wearing a black suit

By Jonah ValdezStaff Writer

Sept. 29, 2023 2:21 PM PT

Warning: this story contains descriptions of sexual assault.

Marilyn Manson has reached a settlement agreement with a woman who alleged in a lawsuit that the rock singer and actor had raped her in his Los Angeles County apartment in 2011.

An attorney for the woman, named only as Jane Doe in court records, had filed notice of the settlement in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, which was obtained by The Times. A trial in the case had been scheduled to begin next week. The parties did not disclose the settlement amount.

In May 2021, Jane Doe had sued Manson, whose legal name is Brian Warner, alleging that while the pair dated in 2011 he had raped her and threatened to kill her. Manson, who denied the allegations, was pleased with the settlement, according to his attorney Howard King, who sent a statement to The Times.

Doe said that she originally did not wish to settle, but reluctantly did so after intimidation from Manson and his legal team.

“I was fully prepared for trial and never in a million years thought I would ever settle, but over the past 2½ years I have silently endured threats, bullying, harassment and various forms of intimidation that have intensified over the past few weeks,” Doe said in a statement sent to Rolling Stone. She said Manson had attended her deposition, where she answered questions for seven hours “with him staring at me from across the table.”

“I’ve been told that this almost never happens, as it’s cruel, and that a main reason for it would be to intimidate and inflict emotional distress on a victim,” she continued. Doe said she was afraid to go to trial out of fear of being “victim-blamed on a large and public scale” and because she “could have risked losing the freedom” to tell her story.

Manson’s attorney, King, bashed the merits of Doe’s case in a statement to The Times, saying, “If this individual had actually wanted to share her story, she could have done so in front of a jury next week.”

“Instead, as soon as the facts came out, showing that her case was meritless, she settled for pennies on the dollar,” said King, who called the settlement amount “an insurance payment representing a fraction of her demands and far less than the cost to Brian of proceeding to trial.”

King said he was prepared to release the full transcript of Doe’s deposition, with her permission, including “provocative” emails she allegedly sent to Manson after the alleged assaults, “so that everyone else can know the truth as well.”

Doe’s attorney, Adam B. Wolf, defended his client’s statement and rebuffed King’s characterization of the settlement amount.

“One should view the comment quite skeptically, as Mr. Manson has an ethical obligation not to disclose information about the amount of the settlement,” Wolf wrote in a statement to The Times.

“As for his attempts to smear Ms. Doe after settling with her, we have no interest in commenting further on Mr. Manson’s behavior,” he continued. “Mr. Manson’s history of misconduct speaks for itself.”

Doe was was one of a number of women who in early 2021 publicly accused Manson of sexual abuse. The initial allegations resulted in the embattled performer being dropped by his record label and his manager and losing a role on the TV show “American Gods.”

The most high-profile accuser was actor Evan Rachel Wood, who along with others — including model Ashley Morgan Smithline and actor Esmé Bianco — launched a public campaign in February 2021 accusing Warner of hideous abuse.

Wood then said in a 2022 documentary that Manson had “essentially raped” her while shooting a music video in 2007.

However, in January, a judge dismissed a federal lawsuit by Smithline that accused Manson of sexually assaulting her in 2010, while the two were dating. Smithline had time to refile her complaint, but instead turned on Wood a month later, recanting her allegations and accusing the actor and others of manipulating her into making false accusations against Manson.

Wood denied the allegations and said she had never pressured Smithline. She insisted the model changed her testimony after caving to threats and harassment.

Also in January, Bianco reached a settlement with the rocker. She had sued the musician in April 2021, accusing him of sexual assault, sexual battery and human trafficking. She alleged the assault took place in 2011, while the pair were dating.

Doe, meanwhile, said in her lawsuit that she had repressed the memory of the alleged assault, which included Manson allegedly forcing her to perform oral sex on him, then pushing her to the ground and forcing himself on her to have sex. The suit said she had regained her memories of the alleged incident in February 2021. She said she had first remembered the alleged assault while on a walk. “Her legs buckled and she staggered as the memory came back to her,” the suit said. “She immediately felt physically ill.”

Her original complaint had been dismissed in September 2021, but was refiled that month to clarify the repressed memory detail.

The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Friday that it is continuing to weigh whether to criminally charge Manson after a 19-month sexual abuse investigation by the county sheriff’s department. The probe looked into incidents allegedly involving the singer between 2009 and 2011 in West Hollywood.

Separately, last week in New Hampshire, Manson was sentenced to 20 hours of community service and a fine after pleading no contest to blowing his nose on a female videographer at a 2019 concert. As a part of the plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss another charge that alleged he spat on the videographer. Both charges were misdemeanors.

Times researcher Scott Wilson and staff writers Christie D’Zurilla and Alexandra Del Rosario contributed to this report.