Evan Rachel Wood says she isn’t scared of Marilyn Manson’s ‘retaliation’

‘Westworld’ actor also asserted she’s ‘steady as a rock’ over Manson’s lawsuit against her

Evan Rachel Wood has said her new HBO documentary about suffering alleged abuse at the hands of Marilyn Manson is an attempt to “protect people”.

The Westworld actor appeared on Monday’s (14 March) episode of ABC’s The View to discuss Phoenix Rising, her new two-part documentary. It chronicles years of alleged abuse Wood suffered at Manson’s hands after she became involved with him when she was 18 and he was 38, between 2006 to 2011.

Manson has repeatedly denied Wood’s allegations.

In Phoenix Rising, Wood claims the controversial singer “essentially raped” her while filming the music video for his 2007 single “Heart-Shaped Glasses”.

When The View co-host Sunny Hostin cited Manson’s denial that he ever had sex with her on the set of “Heart Shaped Glasses”, Wood responded: “We did not have sex on set, I was raped on set. There’s a difference.”

In January, Manson’s lawyer Howard King said Wood’s “imaginative retelling of the making” of the video is “the most brazen and easiest to disprove” in a statement to The Independent.

“Brian did not have sex with Evan on that set, and she knows that is the truth,” King added.

Wood also addressed Manson’s recent defamation lawsuit against her, filed shortly before the release of Phoenix Rising.

Questioning its timing, Wood said she wouldn’t back down from her fight against Manson over the lawsuit and that she expected “retaliation” from him.

Explaining her decision to share her story in Phoenix Rising, Wood said: “I’m [making this documentary] to protect people. I’m doing this to sound the alarm that there is a dangerous person out there and I don’t want anybody getting near him.”

Manson pictured here with Wood while they were in a relationship between 2006 and 2011 (Getty Images)

In his lawsuit, the 53-year-old shock-rock artist claims that Wood and artist Illma Gore made sexual abuse allegations against him for profit, as well as hacking his social media accounts and computers.

Without commenting on Manson’s specific allegations against her, 34-year-old Wood told the co-hosts of The View that the lawsuit doesn’t scare her, but saddens her because “pretty much every survivor” is subjected to intimidation when they try “to expose someone in a position of power”.

Adding that she knows truth will prevail, Wood shared: “I’m steady as a rock.”

Phoenix Rising was released on 15 March and is available for streaming on HBO Max in the US, and will be released on Sky Documentaries in the UK on 17 and 18 March at 9pm.

The series has been described as “harrowing”, but one that features a story that “needs to be heard” by The Independent. Our four-star review can be found here.

If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, you can contact your nearest Rape Crisis organisation for specialist, independent and confidential support. For more information, visit their website here.