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According to a published report from People Magazine, model Ashley Morgan Smithline has filed a sworn statement rescinding her sexual abuse allegations against Marilyn Manson (Brian Warner), as she claims she was “manipulated” into accusing the rocker of psychological, sexual, and physical abuse by accuser Rachel Evan Wood. Smithline filed a declaration in Los Angeles Superior Court Thursday saying she was pressured by actress Evan Rachel Wood and others to go public with the accusations she now says are “false.”
“I succumbed to pressure from Evan Rachel Wood and her associates to make accusations of rape and assault against [Manson] that were not true,” she writes in the declaration, which was obtained by People. Although People corroborated her story with multiple sources for our May 17, 2021 cover story, Smithline says she felt “pressured” by her attorney to speak about her accusations in a press tour.
The model claims she was “repeatedly gaslit” by Wood and others including Ashley Walters, a former assistant of Manson’s who sued him for sexual assault and battery in 2021, Wood’s girlfriend Illma Gore and Game of Thrones actress Esmé Bianco to believe she’d been abused in ways similar to the ways they claimed they had been (Bianco filed a lawsuit against Manson in 2021 that was settled in January. Manson filed a defamation suit against Wood and Gore last year).
A rep for Wood denied that was the case in a statement to PEOPLE.
“Evan never pressured or manipulated Ashley. It was Ashley who first contacted Evan about the abuse she had suffered,” the statement read. “It’s unfortunate that the harassment and threats Ashley received after filing her federal lawsuit appear to have pressured her to change her testimony.”
Smithline says in her new declaration that she had a “brief, consensual sexual relationship” with Manson in 2010, and was contacted 10 years later by either Walters or Gore to take part in a group meeting of women who claimed to have had “relationships or experiences” with the musician, 54.
“I remember [Wood] asked me whether I had been, among other things, whipped, chained, tied up, branded/cut, assaulted while sleeping, beaten, or raped. She said all of these things happened to Ms. Wood and others, and that when Ms. Wood was with [Manson] every moment was a moment of survival,” Smithline wrote. “When I said, no this did not happen to me and this was not my experience, I recall being told by Ms. Wood that just because I could not remember did not necessarily mean that it did not happen.”
This follows last month where Smithline’s case was tossed out had accused Manson, a.k.a. Brian Warner of sexual assault, human trafficking, and unlawful imprisonment. Smithline’s attorney Jay Ellwanger withdrew his representation in October, Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha gave Smithline a 90-day window to either hire a new attorney or decide to represent herself. She did neither by the December 5th deadline, prompting Aenlle-Rocha to dismiss the case without prejudice late Tuesday. This follows the report last years’ case brought by ex-Manson personal assistant Ashley Walters for “sexual assault, battery, and harassment” which was dismissed by a judge. According to CBS News, that case was dismissed by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Stern on the grounds of Walters waiting too long to file the lawsuit and failing to prove why the statute of limitations should be overlooked. This developemnt is the latest in the saga that has carried on multiple years, with many facets of investigations by the LA County Sherrifs office, allegations by over a dozen accuseers, lawsuits, counter-suits by Manson, and Manson’s former parter Evan Rachel Wood’s bombshell documentary with allegations of rape, sexual abuse, torture in her documetary – Phoenix Rising which debuted on HBO on March 15th, 2022. Manson’s countersuits are on-going. Manson’s attorney commented on the dismissal of claims in the Smithline case below.
“We thank and commend Ashley Smithline for dismissing her claims against Brian Warner without seeking or receiving anything in return,” Manson’s attorney Howard King wrote in a statement. “Ms. Smithline has refused to be manipulated by others who are trying to pursue their own agendas against Mr. Warner. We wish her well and will continue to work to assure that a significant price will be paid by those who have tried to abuse our legal system.”
A representative for Manson wrote in a statement to Consequence that bizarre Instagram messages between Smithline and Ellwanger led Manson’s counsel to believe that Smithline “was manipulated into fabricating lies” about the shock rocker. According to court documents, these messages implied that Ellwanger had, unbeknownst to Smithline, lied about her whereabouts in order to postpone their deposition. The messages also indicated that Smithline fired Ellwanger in April 2022, despite his continued communication with Manson’s counsel afterwards.
Smithline first publicly accused Manson of abuse in a detailed cover story with People magazine in May 2021, following accusations by Manson’s ex-partner Evan Rachel Wood. Ellwanger is still representing Esmé Bianco, the Game of Thrones actress who filed a similar lawsuit against Manson the month prior. Manson has denied all allegations and sued Wood for defamation.
The judger heared the previously dismissed case brought by Walters’ in February of 2022 and dismissed it after determining that Walters had not presented enough evidence to overcome the statute of limitations. Stern allowed Walters to file an amended complaint to be heard again, which has now been dismissed. “The plaintiff has pleaded too few facts and too late to keep this case in court,” Stern said in his ruling.
Walters’ amended lawsuit added she was not able to participate in actor Evan Rachel Wood’s new documentary Phoenix Rising due to “a constant state of fear of retribution and retaliation.” Manson’s lawyers also sought to have Walters’s case dismissed earlier this year due to the statute of limitations.
“Defendants should not benefit from [Manson’s] physically, emotionally and psychologically debilitating and threatening behavior by being permitted to use the statute of limitations as a shield,” read the lawsuit.
“While [Walters] could not recall many of the specific acts of intimidation, threats and coercion until Fall of 2020 or later, the compilation of numerous threatening and violent events instilled a constant state of fear of retribution and retaliation.”
The law firms Valli Kane & Vagnini LLP and Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai LLP, who represent Walters, offered the following comment to CBS.
“We are deeply disappointed in the court’s decision today. If allowed to stand, this decision would drastically limit the ability of victims of abuse to obtain justice through the legal system. We clearly pleaded the facts of this case in the complaint detailing the trauma and abuse Ashley endured, which prevented her from coming forward sooner.
“While the court based its decision on the timeliness of Ashley’s claims and not the merits, we disagree with the court’s interpretation of the law as it applies to equitable estoppel and the delayed filing of abuse claims. We remain confident that a full review of the facts in this case will result in a successful appeal, which we plan on filing.”
Walters also released her own statement.
“Nobody gets to choose exactly how they process abuse or threats. I am disheartened in the court’s decision today not just for my case, but for the message it sends to other survivors out there trying to balance how they process abuse with arbitrary court deadlines. We will not let this hurdle stop us from shining a light on what happened to me and others
Wood and many others have alleged abuse from Manson and more than a dozen other victims have come forward, gone on record, promting the the Los Angeles Sheriff’s office to investigate Manson and raid his home, and for his music and film career to dry up, as well his sponsors, and dropped by his film/TV agent and record label. Manson has made repeated statements denying abuse claims of his victims. UPDATED: Manson has posted a statement commented on his lawsuit.
In the documents, Manson accused Wood of impersonating “an actual agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation by forging and distributing a fictitious letter from the agent, to create the false appearance that Warner’s alleged ‘victims’ and their families were in danger, and that there was a federal criminal investigation of Warner ongoing. The provided checklists and scripts to prospective accusers, listing the specific alleged acts of abuse that they should claim against Warner.”