One of the cases filed against shock rocker Marilyn Manson came in 2021 from an anonymous Jane Doe who claimed that Manson, real name Brian Warner, r*ped her and threatened to kill her. The anonymous woman said she repressed the incident for years but was encouraged to come forward when other women sued Manson over similar allegations.
According to Rolling Stone, that case has been settled before it went to trial. The lawsuit was dismissed originally, but was allowed to proceed after it was amended to include more specific allegations against Manson.
The anonymous Jane Doe issued a statement following the settlement saying: “I was fully prepared for trial and never in a million years thought I would ever settle, but over the past two-and-a-half years I have silently endured threats, bullying, harassment and various forms of intimidation that have intensified over the past few weeks.”
“Marilyn Manson attended my deposition, and I was forced to answer seven hours of aggressive questioning with him staring at me from across the table. I’ve been told that this almost never happens, as it’s cruel, and that a main reason for it would be to intimidate and inflict emotional distress on a victim.”
“I never cared about money and only ever wanted justice, but if we had gone to trial, I could have lost my right to anonymity and been victim-blamed on a large and public scale. Most importantly I could have risked losing the freedom to tell my story, and that is worth more than anything in the world.”
She added: “If any other victims are reading this, please know that you are loved and supported even if it doesn’t feel that way, and that in spite of everything I’ve been through I don’t for one second regret speaking up.”
Manson’s attorney Howard King issued a statement saying: “Brian is pleased that, just as previous lawsuits were abandoned without payment or settled for pennies on the dollar, this plaintiff has now agreed to drop her suit in exchange for an insurance payment representing a fraction of her demands and far less than the cost to Brian of proceeding to trial.”
