Nine Inch Nails frontman and Oscar-winning film score composer Trent Reznor (“The Social Network”) has publicly denounced his former protege and collaborator Marilyn Manson amid Evan Rachel Wood’s allegations of psychological and sexual abuse.
In a statement to Pitchfork, the “Closer” singer said that he has been open about his dissatisfaction with Marilyn Manson for “nearly 25 years” after befriending him in the 1990s.
“I have been vocal over the years about my dislike of Manson as a person and cut ties with him nearly 25 years ago,” said Reznor. “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.”
According to Pitchfork, Reznor was referring to a passage in Manson’s 1998 autobiography “The Long Hard Road Out of Hell” in which he recalled sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman alongside Reznor.
“Me and the young Trent Reznor poked our fingers into the birth cavity,” Manson reportedly wrote in the biography.
Though Reznor and Manson had a public feud at the time, the two still joined in collaboration for Reznor’s music video “Starf***ers Inc.,” which featured a cameo by Marilyn Manson. That was in May 2000.
Speaking with MOJO Magazine in 2009, Reznor referred to Marilyn Manson as a “malicious guy and will step on anybody’s face to succeed and cross any line of decency. His drive for success and self-preservation was so high, he pretended to be f***ed up a lot when he wasn’t.”
In an Instagram statement on Monday, actress Evan Rachel Wood, Manson’s former fiancee and partner, said that the hardcore rocker “brainwashed and manipulated” her throughout their relationship.
“The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson,” the “Westworld” star wrote. “He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years.”
“I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission,” she continued. “I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”
Manson was immediately dropped from his record label, Loma Vista Recordings. In a statement on Instagram, Manson said that all of his relationships have been “consensual with like-minded partners.”
“Obviously, my art and my life have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality,” he said. “My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners.”
“Regardless of how – and why – others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth,” he concluded.
Following Wood’s allegation, as many as four women came forward claiming they were also sexually abused by the musician. Former Manson guitarist, Wes Borland, publicly stated that the allegations are “true.”
“Marilyn Manson… I was in the band for nine months. He’s not a great guy,” Borland said, as reported by Loudwire. “Every single thing that people have said about him is f**ing true. So relax about the allegations towards the women… like when people say [bad things about] these women that are coming after him right now… f**k off, they are speaking the truth.”
“I’m sorry to everyone on this podcast right now who doesn’t like this,” he added. “But that guy, he’s amazingly talented, but he’s f***ed up and he needs to be put in check and he needs to get sober and he needs to come to terms with his demons. He is a bad f***ing guy.”
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