*Trigger Warning: Discussions of sustained mental and physical abuse*
A new chapter in the unfolding story of Marilyn Manson (Brian Warner) and his abusive treatment of former partner, Evan Rachel Wood, has this week been unveiled at the Sundance Film Festival.
On Sunday, the Sundance Film Festival saw the premiere of the new documentary. Evan Rachel Wood details the horrific suffering during her relationship with Marilyn Manson in, “Phoneix Rising – Part 1: Don’t Fall”.
Per The Hill;
“I went to [director Amy Berg] very desperate to be heard and for this story to be told and for people to finally pay attention to what we’ve been saying and how serious it is,”
Wood says in a Q&A following her film’s premiere. “My story is not unique.” Wood also recounts a simulated sex scene for Marilyn Manson’s music video for his song “Heart-Shaped Glasses” when she was 19 years old.
“I was coerced into a commercial sex act under false pretenses,”
Says Wood. “That’s when the first crime was committed against me, and I was essentially raped on camera.” Several others followed up this first transgression, including Warner coercing her into carving an “M” into her pelvis near her vagina; scrawling “kill all the Jews” above her side of the bed and decorating their home in Nazi propaganda. Telling her that Hitler is a “rock star”, even though Wood is Jewish. He also made efforts to isolate her, separate her from friends and family, and threaten her to violence in response to compliments.
“Raised to Push Through Things”
In the film, Wood details growing up near Raleigh, North Carolina. She details being raised to push through things even if she was uncomfortable. For example, during the filming of the 2003 film “Thirteen,” Wood was made to kiss a man of 23 at 14 – while a room full of people looked on. “I remember not wanting to do it, but I knew that the character needed to and so it didn’t matter what Evan wanted. It just had to be done.”
She experienced feelings of loss and disconnection as a teenager, making her a prime target for Marilyn Manson at age 18. The pair met in 2006 when Evan Rachel Wood was 18 and Warner, 37. Warner was married to Dita von Teese, and Wood had a boyfriend. However, Warner’s approach seemed above board, asking her to work on a film he was developing – utilizing the “professional” approach to get close to her. Under this pretext, he invited her to his home to drink absinthe – and forcibly kiss her.
Dating a Monster
Despite this less than ideal start to their relationship, they did begin dating in 2007. Even at the beginning of their relationship, Wood details the strange backhanded compliments he would give her. An undercurrent of violence alongside them, like – “you’re so important to me I want to kick you.” Around this time, he began to manipulate her into isolation, driving a wedge between Wood and her family in an attempt to make her dependent on him.
Scarification and branding were part of the escalation in abuse, carving their respective initials into parts of their body. He also began to show an interest in Nazis, knowing full well Wood was Jewish. He made fun of her for her heritage and when she got upset over antisemitism.
Fear of Speaking Out
After their relationship dissolved, Wood kept the abuse she had suffered for a long time. She eventually came forward in 2016, although not naming her abuser. She ultimately did in February 2021, after shooting this documentary in 2020. In it, she explains, “I’m still terrified to name Brian publicly. I want to name him, it’s all I want to do.”
Wood describes receiving threatening messages which include threats to “shut her mouth” and that “people know where she lives”. She goes on to say, “Brian also made it clear that if I ever said anything, he would come after me. He once told me he would f*** up my whole family from the bottom up and he would start with my dad. I have a child and it’s really scary.”
After Wood spoke out, multiple women followed suit, resulting in multiple criminal investigations against Warner.
In her statement naming Marilyn Manson last year, Wood says,
“The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson,”
She discusses his grooming techniques, explaining various grooming techniques and abuse from teenagehood. Wood continues,
“I was brainwash[ed] and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”
Phoenix Rising
While Wood has been desperately afraid to speak out against Warner, her courage in doing so is admirable. She is the inspiration behind four other women making similar statements condemning the man’s behavior. The number of accusers continued to grow over last year. This culminated in the explosive Rolling Stone investigation FIB covered as it first came to print.
Hopefully, this documentary will shed more light on this dark corner of this man’s horrific conduct. This is despite some of its content being quite confronting and difficult. It will assist in holding to account both the man himself and the industry protection he enjoyed for many years.
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