Evan Rachel Wood has advocated for years as a survivor or abuse and rape, and she came forward this week to name ex-partner Marilyn Manson as her alleged abuser. She accused him of “grooming” and “horrifically abusing” her over the course of their relationship, which went public in 2007 (when she was 19 years old, and he was 38) and ended in 2010. Over the past few years, Wood has testified for expanded statutes for abuse and rape survivors’ rights in front of both Congress and California lawmakers, and one of those lawmakers is taking action by asking the FBI to investigate the “alleged cases” against Manson.
The Westworld star posted the letter (from California State Senator Susan Rubio to FBI Director Christopher Wray) to her Instagram account, and it’s clear that the letter was sent nine days prior to Wood’s statement about Manson this week. The letter alludes to multiple cases against the singer:
“Since some of the alleged cases against Mr. Warner are from California, I am especially alarmed. Individuals who engage in this kind of abuse are often serial offenders. If these allegations are true, and no investigation is undertaken, we will be failing the victims and allowing a possible perpetrator to continue abusing unsuspecting victims. That must not be allowed to happen.”
In response to Wood’s Monday Instagram post, four other women came forward against Manson with allegations of abuse against him. This has led to his agency, CAA, dropping him as a client after his record label, Loma Vista Recordings, announced that they’d removed him from their roster. Two TV shows (AMC’s Creepshow anthology series and Starz’s ongoing American Gods) that filmed appearances by Manson also followed suit.
Hours after Wood’s initial statement, Manson issued a statement of his own to deny any wrongdoing. “Obviously, my art and my life have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality,” he wrote. “My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how — and why — others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth.”