Evan Rachel Wood’s revelation that Marilyn Manson sexually abused her is proof that society needs to stop defending abusers and start siding with survivors. The amount of people who are defending Marilyn Manson is appalling, and it shows why many survivors don’t come forward. Here are several ways I see people defending Marilyn Manson – and why they’re wildly inaccurate:
1. “You can’t groom an adult.”
You absolutely can groom an adult, but people don’t want to admit it! After all, abuse can and does happen at any age. Do you remember how naive and impressionable you were at 18? That’s how old Evan Rachel Wood was when then-36-year-old Manson started grooming her.
2. “Evan only got with him to further her career.”
If anything, Evan completely halted her career because of Manson. She went on tour with him and in the process, she left her own career behind for quite a while. Regardless of Wood’s and Manson’s careers, though, Marilyn Manson abused Evan, and that’s what we should focus on. What does it matter anyway?
3. “She’s just lying to get attention.”
This “defense” is so old and pointless, especially because others have made similar allegations. Why would that many people lie, and why do you believe Marilyn Manson? Be honest: You’d believe Evan if her abuser was someone we all hate.
4. “She should have known that he would abuse her.”
Predators are always charming, so it’s difficult to know who’s safe and who isn’t. Manson is extremely intelligent and is a master manipulator, so how could she have known what he would do to her?
5. “Marilyn Manson would never hurt her.”
For years, Marilyn Manson showed us his true colors, but we all ignored them. We thought that his words were for entertainment and shock value, but they were facts. Take a look at his lyrics or read his book, and you’ll see that he has an abusive streak. It’s all there in his own words.
6. “He was nice to me.”
Many abusers do charitable work and are kind to others to cover up their crimes. Abusers don’t abuse everyone in their lives, but they do destroy the lives of those they do abuse, and we need to understand that.
7. “Why would Evan come forward now?”
It takes some survivors a longtime to process what happened to them. Some trauma survivors repress memories, and others need to process what their experiences before they come forward with their stories. Survivors may also not want to believe that they were abused, but we should always believe them when they speak out.
8. “Manson is innocent until proven guilty!”
Do any of you understand the reason she came forward? She was fighting for The Phoenix Act. That way survivors have more time to come forward. She had zero to gain from this besides warning others what Manson is truly capable of and seeking justice for survivors everywhere.
Manson’s lyrics (like “Don’t ever meet their friends”) and song titles (like “I Wanna Kill You Like They Do in the Movies”) prove that he’s far from innocent. This man used his fame to manipulate the masses, and many of us never even saw it.
We can no longer pretend that Marilyn Manson isn’t an abuser. As a former diehard Manson fan, even I tried to ignore Manson’s signs of abuse. But while none of us wants to believe that our former hero is a villain, it’s a harsh reality that we must face.
Please start listening to survivors. The evidence that Marilyn Manson is a monster is piling up, and we need to believe it. I stand with Evan Rachel Wood and all other Manson survivors, and you should too.
Featured Image by Anete Lusina from Pexels
Very biased
How do you feel about it now?
What evidence? You lot keep saying that over and over and over and over and again and again and again. But ERW hasn’t provided any, neither has any of the others. Manson defenders are looking at both sides. ERW defenders are too scared to look at the evidence that’s proves Manson is innocent because they don’t want to be wrong. Innocent until proven guilty applies to ERW and rest of those women just as much as it does Manson. Intelligent people will always question things despite what they believe, the ignorant just believe without questioning. Why don’t you read up on Marilyn Manson Uncanceled, Standbyyourmanson, The Manson Cases and watch Colonel Kurtz and Greta Arora on youtube then come back and write about Marilyn Manson’s guilt. Because from want I’ve just read you don’t know anything about this case apart from what you’ve read from ERW and the mainstream media. Thank you kindly
What evidence? You people keep on saying that over and over and over, again and again and again and again. But ERW hasn’t provided any at all so far, neither has any of the others. Manson defenders are looking at both sides, ERW defenders are too scared to look at the evidence that proves Manson is innocent because they don’t want to be proved wrong. Innocent until proven guilty applies to ERW just as much as it does to Marilyn Manson. Intelligent people will always question things despite what they believe, the ignorant just believe without questioning.
And saying that that song title proves he’s far from innocent is beyond pathetic and you know it. Why don’t you read up on Marilyn Manson Uncanceled, Standbyyourmanson, The Manson Cases, and watch Colonel Kurtz and Greta Aurora on youtube, then come back here and write about Marilyn Mansons guilt. Because from what I’ve just read you don’t know anything about this case apart from what you’ve read from ERW and the mainstream media. Thank you kindly.