Last week it was reported that following a four-year investigation into allegations of abuse and domestic violence, shock rocker Marilyn Manson will face no criminal charges. Manson had faced accusations by more than a dozen women, however a Los Angeles District Attorney said that the assault charges against Manson could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Game Of Thrones” actress Esmé Bianco was among Manson’s accusers, and she expressed her disappointment in the news and also directed her anger at Manson himself. Bianco sued Manson in 2021, and the pair settled the lawsuit out of court in 2023.
“Whilst I am deeply disappointed by the decision of the District Attorney to not bring charges in the case against Brian Warner, I am sadly not surprised,” Bianco said in a statement. “Within our toxic culture of victim blaming; a lack of understanding of coercive control, the complex nature of sexual assault within intimate partnerships, and statutes of limitations that do not support the realities of healing; prosecutions face an oftentimes insurmountable hurdle.”
She continued: “Once again, our justice system has failed survivors. Not the individual prosecutors and detectives who worked for years on this case, but the system that made them do so with one hand tied behind their collective backs. Seven years ago when I was faced for the first time with that failure, it set me out on a journey of advocacy and activism, but with that came a very clear directive. My healing and peace could not be reliant upon the outcome of a desperately broken system.”
“I know the truth of what happened to me. It sits deeply rooted in my belly, unshakable, mine. No- one and nothing can take that away. And so to all the survivors reading this, who are being hit by yet another piece of stinging news and feeling hopeless or discouraged, let me remind you: you know your truth also. Let that be your anchor, for it is stronger than the bars of any prison.”
“Using that truth as our guide we can draw strength to continue the fight for justice reform. Shine our light onto the dark realities of sexual violence and intimate partner abuse, so that we can not only understand it but end it. Strive to heal not only ourselves but the hurt people who hurt others. Our culture needs your love, compassion and bright light now more than ever. That is the truth.”
Bianco then addressed Manson: “To Brian Warner, I say only this. By you dragging me through hell, I discovered the unstoppable force of my own power. I learnt how strong, and brave and bold I really am. I emerged as a Phoenix from the ashes that you left of my life. You also know the truth, and may you endeavor to find peace with that.”
