allegations

Director Amy Berg Says She Was Stalked Online While Making Phoenix Rising

Marilyn Manson, real name Brian Warner. Photo: Isaac Brekken/WireImage

Amy Berg, director of Evan Rachel Wood’s new HBO documentary Phoenix Rising, said that she needed protection from online stalking during the production of the two-part film. The documentary explores accusations of domestic violence and sexual assault levied at Warner a.k.a. Marilyn Manson. In an interview with Billboard, Berg says that while she was working on Phoenix Rising, she “started receiving horror films in my Amazon account that I wasn’t ordering, and so I had to up the security with that.” Berg includes that she heard that other members of the production received “mysterious packages at their houses that they didn’t order,” but she doesn’t know if they came from Manson or his fans. “There’s a lot of like online stalking in that world, the Brian Warner world, so we had to take a look at that,” she says, adding that she had to “do double security.”

In December 2021, Wood declared in court that she has received threats from both “the alleged offender and his network of fanatics” and that she had to heighten security at home after Manson threatened her and her son. In Phoenix Rising, Wood claims that Manson raped her during the filming of the “Heart-Shaped Glasses” music video. Manson’s attorney called the claims “false” in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. Manson is currently at the center of three separate lawsuits for alleged sexual assault.

Phoenix Rising Director Says She Was Stalked Online