Earlier this week, actress Evan Rachel Wood courageously shared her most painful secret with the world:
While she was still in her teens, Wood entered an abusive relationship with Marilyn Manson, who was 36 at the time.
Inspired by Wood’s example, four other women came forward to accuse Manson of various forms of physical and psychological abuse.
Now, many longtime fans and friends are beginning to realize that the most shocking aspect of Manson’s career was not his onstage antics, but the horrors to which he subjected the women in his life.
On Thursday, acclaimed singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers came forward to share her account of her first and only encounter with Manson.
Bridgers was just a teenager at the time, and she visited Manson’s home as a star-struck fan.
“I went to Marilyn Manson’s house when I was a teenager with some friends. I was a big fan,” the 26-year-old Grammy nominee tweeted this week.
“He referred to a room in his house as the ‘r*pe room’, I thought it was just his horrible frat boy sense of humor,” she added.
“I stopped being a fan,” Bridgers continued.
“I stand with everyone who came forward.”
From there, Bridgers accused Manson’s handlers of being complicit in his crimes by remaining silent despite ample evidence that something was very, very wrong.
“The label knew, management knew, the band knew,” she wrote.
“Distancing themselves now, pretending to be shocked and horrified is f—ing pathetic.”
While Bridgers makes it clear that she was not personally victimized by Manson, her account offers a shocking look into the culture that allowed the shock rocker to get away with so much for so long.
And Bridgers is certainly not alone in expressing solidarity with Manson’s victims and contempt for those who helped to conceal his behavior.
Shortly after Wood shared her story, Manson’s ex-wife, Dita Von Teese, issued a statement in which she revealed that the accounts of the victims “do not match my personal experience during our 7 years together as a couple,”
Instead, Von Teese says, she left the marriage due to “infidelity and drug abuse.”
But while she may not have endured the kind of brutality described by Wood and others, Von Teese says she supports those who were victimized by her ex-husband.
“Abuse of any kind has no place in any relationship,” Von Teese wrote.
“I urge those of you who have incurred abuse to take steps to heal and the strength to fully realize yourself.”
Manson issued a statement this week in which he turned the tables on his accusers and alleged that they’re “misrepresent[ing] the past” in an effort to destroy his career and reputation.
“Obviously, my art and my life have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality,” the 52-year-old wrote.
“My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how – and why – others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth.”
On Wednesday, LA police officers responded to a request for a welfare check at Manson’s home.
While the singer did not emerge, the officers left after a representative of Manson’s assured them that he was safe.
We’ll have further updates on this developing story as more information becomes available.