the law

Marilyn Manson’s Former Assistant Suing for Sexual Assault, Battery, Harassment

Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Marilyn Manson’s former assistant is suing the performer, after accusing him of sexual assault and harassment alongside multiple other women. Ashley Walters filed a case against Manson, born Brian Warner, on May 18 in Los Angeles, citing sexual assault, battery, and harassment, according to reporting by the Cut. Along with the allegations against Manson and a criminal domestic-violence investigation in Los Angeles, the performer is already facing one lawsuit by Game of Thrones actor Esmé Bianco. In response to the new suit by Walters, a Manson spokesperson told the Cut he “vehemently denied any accusations of assault.”

Walters’s filing described her meeting Manson in 2010 for a photo shoot where he aggressively tried to kiss her and placed her hand in his underwear. She returned months later to work as his assistant, according to the lawsuit, where she was allegedly forced to work for days straight, had dishes thrown at her, and was “offered” to Manson’s friends, who would kiss and grope her. “It made me feel like I was his property,” she told the Cut. “It just made me feel like a piece of meat.” Walters was eventually fired in 2011. She said she felt moved to speak out against Manson after hearing Evan Rachel Wood’s 2018 domestic-violence testimony in Congress and later meeting other alleged victims of Manson’s, including Wood and Bianco. “My end goal is just to hold him accountable,” she said. Manson has been dropped by his label, talent agency, and TV appearances in the wake of allegations against him.

Marilyn Manson’s Former Assistant Suing for Sexual Assault