Phoenix Rising, the Evan Rachel Wood documentary directed by Amy Berg, is nearly upon us. The two-parter (which premiered at Sundance) will further detail Evan Rachel Wood’s allegations of grooming and sexual abuse against Marilyn Manson. These claims include Wood’s allegations that Manson “essentially raped” her on the “Heart-Shaped Glasses” video set (which he has denied), and the project follows up on Evan’s advocacy for legal protections for sexual assault victims.
In early March, Manson sued Wood over her abuse claims. In doing so, Manson accused Wood of “malicious falsehood” in her claims. He also alleged that she’d “hacked into the singer’s computers and social media” and fabricated an FBI letter to sway more accusers against him. Wood has now visited The View, where (around the 3:00 minute mark above) she responded by saying that Manson’s denial of raping her on that video set should bd compared to his 2007 statements, which she summed up like this: “Oh, it does look real, doesn’t it? [wink wink]”
Wood also declared herself to be unafraid of Manson’s lawsuit, which she suggests was timed in accordance with the documentary’s release and meant to intimidate her as a survivor. Via Variety:
“I can’t obviously speak about any of the specific allegations of the lawsuit, but I’m not scared. I am sad, because this is how it works. This is what pretty much every survivor that tries to expose someone in a position of power goes though, and this is part of the retaliation that keeps survivors quiet. This is why people don’t want to come forward. This was expected.
“I am very confident that I have the truth on my side and that the truth will come out. This is clearly timed before the documentary… I’m not doing this [film] to clear my name. I’m doing this to protect people. I’m doing this to sound the alarm that there is a dangerous person out there and I don’t want anybody getting near him. So people can think whatever they want about me. I have to let the legal process run its course, and I’m steady as a rock.”
About halfway through the Phoenix Rising production (in 2021), Wood came forward to name Manson as the previously unidentified domestic abuser that she spoke of while testifying to legislators. That testimony aimed to help pass California’s Phoenix Act, which (as detailed in the documentary) sought to extend the statute of limitations for rape cases.
Phoenix Rising debuts March 15 on HBO.