Trent Reznor, the Oscar-winning composer and frontman of Nine Inch Nails, has denied claims that he was involved in a sexual assault alongside Marilyn Manson, made by Manson in his memoir.
Earlier this week, Manson was accused by his former partner, actor Evan Rachel Wood, of years of “horrific” abuse. She had previously accused an unnamed person of sexual assault, physical violence including torture, and various forms of emotional abuse. Four other women concurrently published accounts of sexual, physical and emotional abuse from Manson.
He denies the allegations, calling them “horrible distortions of reality”, and saying “my intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual”.
In the wake of the allegations, a passage from Manson’s 1998 autobiography The Long Hard Road Out of Hell began circulating online, in which Manson claims that he and Reznor sexually assaulted a heavily intoxicated woman. Reznor has responded, saying:
I have been vocal over the years about my dislike of Manson as a person and cut ties with him nearly 25 years ago. As I said at the time, the passage from Manson’s memoir is a complete fabrication. I was infuriated and offended back when it came out and remain so today.
The book passage is from an unpublished 1995 Manson interview with Empyrean magazine. A publisher’s note in the book explains the interview was never printed in Empyrean because the magazine publishers “believed that the magazine had followed unethical interview procedures in order to extract information from Mr Manson”.
Reznor and Manson were once close, with Reznor signing him to his label Nothing Records and co-producing his first two albums. He later cut ties, and in 2009 called Manson “a malicious guy [who] will step on anybody’s face to succeed and cross any line of decency. Seeing him now, drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he’s become a dopey clown.”
Following the allegations of the five aforementioned women this week, further women have alleged abuse from Manson.
Model Scarlett Kapella alleges emotional, physical and sexual abuse; musician Chloe Black alleges physical and verbal abuse; artist and film-maker Louise Keay Bell, who has previously made allegations against the singer, reiterated her claims that he “emotionally and financially abused me”, and harassed her following the initial allegations. Fashion stylist Love Bailey claims he held a Glock pistol to her head in a 2011 incident, and retailer Torii Lynn also alleges that Manson abused her. Manson has not responded to these particular allegations. The Guardian has contacted his management for comment.
Following this week’s allegations, Manson has been dropped by his label Loma Vista Recordings, and removed from two US TV series he was due to appear in.
Los Angeles police were called to the singer’s home on Wednesday night to check on the welfare of the singer, and stated to the Daily Mail there was “no evidence of any trouble whatsoever”.
His ex-wife Dita Von Teese made a statement following the allegations, saying she had not experienced abuse from Manson, and that their marriage had ended due to “infidelity and drug abuse”.