Marilyn Manson has spoken out about the a leaked clip portraying the dramatised violent rape of Lana Del Rey, reiterating that the the rape scene was never intended to be part of one of his music videos.
Speaking to NME, Manson said that while he was present for some of the scenes depicted in the supercut footage, the rape dramatisation was filmed separately and was later edited by someone he is not affiliated with. He also acknowledged that the footage was shot by director Eli Roth.
“It wasn’t a Marilyn Manson video. The editor of the company that put it out was somebody who’s edited my videos, that video was something that was done with a camera that Eli, who’s my friend, and I both wanted to test out, so I let him test it out,” he explained. “What they filmed was put in context seemingly as if it were a Marilyn Manson video, and that was in no way the intention.”
The clip in question features several disturbing scenes, including one which depicts Lana Del Rey being raped by actor/director Eli Roth (director of hyper violent horror film Hostel). Manson himself does not appear in these scenes but does appear in intercut footage from his videos for No Reflection and Slo-Mo-Tion.
Manson also said that he and Roth had planned to work on a music video with Del Rey, but that the project fell through. “Eli and I wanted to do a music video with her but she was being such a problem,” he said. “Although I still respect her, I’m friends with her. I just left, I was tired, I was not willing to make that part of the video. Eli and I originally had intentions of making a video with her, but that is not the intention that is represented in that film clip because that is not what I filmed, not for my video.”
Previously, a representative for Manson denied that he had anything to do with the Del Rey scenes. “Manson did not direct this, shoot it, nor was it for a Marilyn Manson video or outtake footage made by him or to be used by him with his music,” said Manson’s representative Kathryn Frazier. “It must be a fan video splicing up old Manson video footage with someone else’s Lana Del Rey footage,” she added.
The video, now removed, featured the title Sturmgruppe, the name of a L.A. based production house who worked on videos for Manson’s No Reflection and Slo-Mo-Tion. The video was posted on their website as a publicity show reel before it was taken down.
Speaking about the rape scene Manson acknowledged the clip was spliced together with footage from his other videos and said it “strongly stands out of place”. “It doesn’t really make sense,” he added. “I would not make a video of that nature, nor would Eli. I don’t think either of us were ever intending for that to be seen, it was more of a camera test. I’m a person that would beat somebody’s ass if they raped somebody that I know.”
As reported by Pitchfork, in an interview with Wondering Sound, Alan Lasky of Sturmgruppe said that there’s even more disturbing footage than what has already surfaced. “You’re not seeing all of the footage,” he said. “We could only take the tamest pieces of what we did.”
Eli Roth and Lana Del Rey have yet to comment.
Victims of sexual assault can contact the Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence National Help Line on 1800 737 732 for support. Men seeking help stopping violent or controlling behaviour can call the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491, which also supports victims and families.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTUT_9wc4vk
