Marilyn Manson plays first live show since sexual abuse allegations came to light

Marilyn Manson played his first live show in nearly five years on Friday (August 2), the first since a string of sexual abuse allegations came to light in 2021.

The musician opened for Five Finger Death Punch at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the first of a run of dates across North America over the next two months.

It is the first full show by Manson since 2019. Since then, a raft of sexual abuse allegations were levelled against him in February 2021, including by his ex-fiancée Evan Rachel Wood, who made allegations of rape, torture, and threats. Separate claims of abuse from more than 12 women have also been made.

Numerous lawsuits have ensued since, with Manson consistently denying all allegations.

The show in Pennsylvania saw him backed by a band including Reba Meyers of Code Orange on guitar and Piggy D, formerly of Rob Zombie’s band, on bass (via The PRP). See some footage from the show below.

In March 2022, Manson brought a defamation case against Wood but the case’s key claims were dismissed last May.  However, some parts of the case are still pending and a trial awaits.

In January, he was ordered to pay Wood’s legal fees of roughly $326,000. In addition, it was reported in February that Manson will pay the legal fees of artist Illma Gore, who is named as a second defendant and described as Wood’s “on-again, off-again romantic partner” in his defamation lawsuit.

Gore is reportedly owed over $160,000, bringing Manson’s total to nearly $500,000. The reimbursements were awarded under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which says that defendants unfairly sued for their freedom of speech can have their attorney’s costs paid for by the plaintiff.

Other accusers include Game of Thrones actress and former girlfriend Esme Bianco and ex-girlfriend Ashley Morgan Smithline. The lawsuit filed by Smithline has since been dismissed, while Manson denied Bianco’s claims as “meritless” and settled with her in January 2023.

He was also accused by someone only known as Jane Doe in September 2023 – however, her case was settled a week ahead of going on trial.

Last September, he reached a private settlement with a Jane Doe plaintiff who alleged he raped her in 2011. Elsewhere, last month his former assistant Ashley Walters won a critical appeal that revived her case which was originally dismissed last year. In her suit, she alleges that Manson sexually assaulted her, whipped her, and threw her against a wall during a drug-induced rage.

Last month, a woman who claims Manson subjected her to “horrific” abuse as a minor in the ‘90s spoke publicly for the first time. “No longer a nameless victim, I stand before you as Bianca Allaine Kyne, a survivor. Today, I reclaim my voice, a voice stolen for far too long,” she said in a new statement released by her lawyer, Jeff Anderson.

It emerged in May that Manson had signed a new record deal with independent label Nuclear Blast, and this week he released his first single since 2020 in the form of ‘As Sick As The Secrets Within’.

For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.

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