CONTENT WARNING: The following article contains discussions and descriptions of sexual assault and abuse.
On Tuesday, model Ashley Morgan Smithline filed a lawsuit against Marilyn Manson. She is seeking damages for sexual assault, sexual battery and human trafficking. She is the fourth woman to announce publicly that she is suing Manson.
She first accused Manson of the alleged abuse on Instagram earlier in the year, and then later spoke on the issue in an in-depth interview with People magazine.
“I survived a monster,” she said in the interview.
The 36-year-old actress filed the complaint in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California. The complaint details some incredibly harrowing allegations of rape that involve being burned and whipped. She also alleges that the singer “branded” her by carving his initials into her thigh.
Though she is one of four women to sue Manson, she is among more than a dozen women who have come forward and alleged the singer subjected them to varying kinds of abuse. Among those women are actress Evan Rachel Wood of Game Of Thrones and his ex-assistant Ashley Walters, who is suing him for sexual assault and battery.
A few days ago, Manson agreed to surrender himself to the Los Angeles Police Department following an arrest warrant from New Hampshire. The arrest warrant stemmed from an incident in 2019 where Manson is alleged to have assaulted a videographer at a concert.
He has previously denied all claims against him, saying they are “horrible distortions of reality” that misrepresent consensual relationships with “like-minded partners.”
–
If you need assistance, 1800 RESPECT – the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service — can be reached on 1800 737 732.
