Last year, actress Evan Rachel Wood commented on shock rocker Marilyn Manson’s defamation lawsuit against her.
She said she felt the truth was on her side, and she questioned the timing of the suit as it happened just prior to the release of her two-part documentary, “Phoenix Rising,” which saw her detail her experience as a survivor of domestic violence to pursue justice.
“I can’t speak about any of the specific allegations of the lawsuit, but I am not scared,” Wood told “The View.” “I am sad because this is how it works. This is what pretty much every survivor that tries to expose someone in a position of power goes through. This is part of the retaliation that keeps survivors quiet. This is why people don’t want to come forward … I’m not doing this [film] to clear my name, I’m doing this to protect people … I’m steady as a rock.”
Numerous other women came forward with their own accusations against Manson, but one woman, Ashley Morgan Smithline, recanted her allegation against the singer and blamed Wood for manipulating her into making the claim.
“I succumbed to pressure from Evan Rachel Wood and her associates to make accusations of rape and assault against Mr. Warner that were not true,” Smithline wrote as reported by Page Six. “I started to believe that what I was repeatedly told happened to Ms. Wood and [others] also happened to me.”
Wood’s spokesperson denied Smithline’s accusations. “Evan never pressured or manipulated Ashley,” they said, claiming Smithline “first contacted Evan about the abuse she had suffered. It’s unfortunate that the harassment and threats Ashley received … appear to have pressured her to change her testimony.”
Smithline said she was repeatedly told that she might just not remember the alleged incidents by Manson.
“While at first I knew Mr. Warner did not do these things to me, I eventually I began to question whether he actually did,” Smithline wrote. “On numerous occasions, I was told … that I may just be misremembering what happened, repressing my memories of what happened, or that my memories had not yet surfaced — which they said happened to people against whom these acts were perpetrated.”
Eventually, Smithline said she agreed to participate. She said (Wood associate Illma) Gore drafted an accusation statement for her and posted it to her account for her, and that she was then connected with Jay Ellwanger, the same lawyer who represented (Manson accuser Esmé) Bianco.
“Leading up to the filing of the complaint, I felt pressured by Mr. Ellwanger to go on a press tour, which included an interview on ‘The View’ and an interview and photoshoot with ‘People’ magazine,” Smithline wrote. “I was very uncomfortable doing this press but felt pressured to do it.”
Smithline she did not intend to refile her case against him and that she did not receive any sort of settlement money in regards to her new stance on the allegations.
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