A Model Who Previously Sued Marilyn Manson For Sexual Assault Now Says Evan Rachel Wood Pressured Her To Make The Allegations
Marilyn Manson arrives on the Vainness Honest Oscar Get together in Beverly Hills on Feb. 9, 2020.
Evan Agostini / AP
A mannequin who beforehand accused Marilyn Manson of sexual assault now says that Westworld actor Evan Rachel Wooden pressured her into making the allegations.
In a declaration filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court docket on Thursday, Ashley Morgan Smithline stated the allegations weren’t true and that she finally gave in to the stress to make the accusations after Wooden repeatedly advised her that simply because she could not keep in mind “didn’t essentially imply that it didn’t occur.” Attorneys for Manson, whose authorized title is Brian Hugh Warner, filed the declaration as a part of the musician’s defamation go well with in opposition to Wooden and Ashley Gore, also called Illma Gore.
“Whereas at first I knew Mr. Warner didn’t do this stuff to me, finally I started to query whether or not he truly did,” Smithline stated.
Evan Rachel Wooden seems at an occasion in Brooklyn on Nov. 1, 2022.
Slaven Vlasic / Getty Photographs for The Roku Channel
The mannequin stated that on “quite a few events” she was advised by Wooden and Recreation of Thrones actor Esmé Bianco, who not too long ago settled a lawsuit accusing Manson of rape, about what occurred to them. In 2021, Wooden, who had spoken for years about being in an abusive relationship, recognized Manson as the previous companion on social media as Smithline and three others additionally posted concerning the alleged sexual, bodily, and emotional abuse they suffered from Manson.
Wooden, who was engaged to Manson in 2010, stated on her Instagram that the singer began “grooming” her when she was a youngster and continued to abuse her for years.
“I used to be brainwashed and manipulated into submission,” she wrote.
In her declaration, Smithline stated Wooden, Bianco, and others had requested whether or not the identical issues had occurred to her and advised her that she “may be misremembering what occurred” or “repressing [her] recollections of what occurred.”
“Ultimately, I began to consider that what I used to be repeatedly advised occurred to Ms. Wooden and Ms. Bianco additionally occurred to me,” Smithline stated.
Smithline additionally claimed that Gore had drafted and posted the assertion on her Instagram accusing Manson of abuse after Wooden had inspired her and others to go public with their allegations when she did.
A spokesperson for Wooden denied Smithline’s claims, saying that the actor “by no means pressured or manipulated” the mannequin.
“It was Ashley who first contacted Evan concerning the abuse she had suffered,” the spokesperson stated in a press release to BuzzFeed Information. “It’s unlucky that the harassment and threats Ashley obtained after submitting her federal lawsuit seem to have pressured her to alter her testimony.”
Attorneys for Gore didn’t instantly reply to BuzzFeed Information’ request for remark.
Smithline sued Manson in federal courtroom in June 2021, accusing him of sexual assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional misery, and illegal imprisonment. A choose dismissed her grievance final month after Smithline didn’t submit a discover of latest counsel or a standing report after her lawyer withdrew from the case, in response to courtroom information.
In her declaration, Smithline stated lawyer Jay Ellwanger, who filed the grievance on her behalf, didn’t go over its contents together with her previous to submitting and that she didn’t have a chance to approve it upfront.
“The grievance contained unfaithful statements about Mr. Warner, together with that there was violence and non-consensual sexual exercise in our temporary relationship and that I had repressed recollections of the identical till assembly with Ms. Wooden, Ms. Gore, and others in 2020,” she stated.
Smithline stated that main as much as the submitting of the grievance she felt pressured by Ellwanger, who additionally represented Bianco in her case in opposition to Manson, to go on a press tour. After the grievance was filed, Smithline fired him, she stated.
Ellwanger advised BuzzFeed Information in an e mail that he was restricted in what he may say on account of attorney-client privilege. Nonetheless, he stated the “particular allegations concerning [his] illustration of Ms. Smithline are categorically and verifiably false.” He additionally stated Bianco had no remark.
Authorities in Los Angeles began investigating the allegations in opposition to Manson in February 2021 after Wooden, Smithline, and the opposite ladies went public with their claims. Over time, greater than a dozen ladies have accused the singer of sexual abuse.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division accomplished its legal investigation into Manson final yr and handed it over to the Los Angeles County district lawyer’s workplace. A spokesperson for the district lawyer advised BuzzFeed Information earlier this month that the case was nonetheless beneath evaluation.
In her declaration, Smithline stated she has no intention of refiling her lawsuit or pursuing legal costs in opposition to Manson, saying that he “didn’t ever assault or abuse [her].”
“Wanting again, I really feel I used to be manipulated by Ms. Wooden, Ms. Gore, Ms. Bianco, and Mr. Ellwanger to unfold publicly false accusations of abuse in opposition to Mr. Warner,” she stated.
