Marilyn Manson sexual assault lawsuit filed by former assistant revived

A lawsuit filed by Marilyn Manson‘s former assistant has been revived following a ruling by an appeals court.

It comes after the case was originally dismissed last year when a judge ruled that Ashley Walters had waited too long to bring her case, ruling that such cases needed to be filed within two years of the alleged crimes.

Walters’ initial suit against the vocalist, whose real name is Brian Warner, alleged sexual assault, sexual battery, sexual harassment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other claims during the time she worked for him from 2010 to 2011. She had initially named Warner’s label, Marilyn Manson Records, Inc., as a co-defendant.

Yesterday (December 13), a California’s Second Appellate District said Walters’ case was fair game under the so-called delayed discovery rule, as she claims the trauma of the incidents caused her to suppress the memories until 2020.

“Until she received diagnosis and treatment, Walters [says she] was unable to remember the repressed events, and once she did recall them, she was unable to immediately identify these events as abuse,” according to the court [via Billboard]. “These allegations of suppressed memories and psychological blocking are sufficient to withstand [dismissal].”

Walters’s lawyer, James Vagnini, also told Rolling Stone: “This is a great victory for all survivors as it provides a clear path for issues of repressed memories and delayed discovery in these types of cases. I think the court is very firm in articulating a very clear decision as to why survivors have repressed memories and why that should be relevant when they come forward later in life to bring those claims.”

Manson previously denied all allegations levelled at him by Walters, claiming that she and other accusers were “cynically and dishonestly seeking to monetise and exploit the #MeToo movement” by launching a “coordinated attack against him”.

He is yet to comment on yesterday’s ruling.

NME has also contacted a spokesperson for Manson for comment on the decision.

Manson has over the last two years faced various lawsuits and allegations made by over a dozen women accusing him of both sexual and physical abuse. Along with Walters, 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 settled with Bianco in January.

Smithline later recanted her accusations and claimed that Manson’s former girlfriend, Evan Rachel Wood – whose initial allegation of sexual abuse by Manson in February 2021 led to more women coming forth with allegations against the singer – had pressured her to make the claim, which Wood later refuted.

In September, another sexual assault and rape lawsuit filed by an accuser – known only as Jane Doe – was settled a week ahead of the case going on trial.

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