Evan Rachel Wood prevails in Marilyn Manson defamation case & we're cheering for justice

After some bitter back-and-forth, actress Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld) has come out on top of the lawsuit filed against her by shock rocker Marilyn Manson.

Manson, real name Brian Warner, sued Wood for defamation in 2022 following an Instagram post from the actress detailing the abuse she had undergone at his hand and the “grooming” he had put her through during their relationship.

“He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years,” she wrote at the time. “I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail.”

For those unaware, Manson and Wood started dating in 2006 and went public with their relationship in 2007. At the time, Wood was 19 and Manson was 36. The two dated for years before Manson proposed to Wood in 2010, though they called off the engagement a few months later.

Following Wood’s Instagram post, Manson filed a defamation lawsuit against her with the accusations detailing the “emotional distress” it put on him and that Wood was concocting a “conspiracy” to paint him as an abuser. Four more women also came forward after Wood with similar accusations,

Regardless, in May 2023, a judge struck down ten claims Manson made in the suit, which has come in handy for Wood since he has now officially rescinded his lawsuit. Even better, he also agreed to pay more than $300,000 to cover her legal fees.

Wood’s attorney, Michael J. Kump, addressed the triumph in a statement to Entertainment Weekly, saying, “[Manson] filed a lawsuit against Ms. Wood as a publicity stunt to try to undermine the credibility of his many accusers and revive his faltering career. But his attempt to silence and intimidate Ms. Wood failed. As the trial court correctly found, Warner's claims were meritless. Warner's decision to finally abandon his lawsuit and pay Ms. Wood her full fee award of almost $327,000 only confirms as much.”

Today's news feels like a rare moment of justice. We're hopeful that Wood can finally find some well-deserved closure from the painful situation.