[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content
Big update on Marilyn Manson’s legal troubles…
As we’ve previously reported, the 54-year-old musician has been accused of sexual assault, rape, battery, trafficking, and more over the past two years by several victims, including one woman who filed a lawsuit under the name Jane Doe. Back in 2021, the unidentified victim claimed Marilyn raped and sexually abused her multiple times throughout their relationship in 2011. She also alleged he deprived her of food, sleep, and safety, and threatened to “bash her head in” if she ever reported the abuse.
In the filing, the woman said she had “repressed” the memories of the assaults until February of that year when several women publicly accused him of physical and sexual abuse. But at the time, a judge dismissed her case as the claims made in the lawsuit were “not sufficient to invoke the delayed discovery rule” and get around the lapsed statute of limitations period. However, she didn’t back down. Jane Doe ended up refiling the lawsuit weeks later. And two years later, we’re getting a huge update on the case.
Related: Russell Brand Officially Under Investigation For Several Sexual Abuse Claims!
Days before Marilyn and Jane Doe were expected to go to trial, they settled the lawsuit. According to a report from Rolling Stone, her attorney, Adam Wolf, filed a notice of settlement with the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles on Wednesday and plans to submit a request to dismiss the case within the next 45 days.
Whoa.
The exact details of the settlement have not been revealed at this time. But following the news, Marilyn’s lawyer, Howard King, issued a statement to People, saying she agreed to “an insurance payment” in exchange for dropping the case:
“Brian is pleased that, just as previous lawsuits were abandoned without payment or settled for pennies on the dollar, this plaintiff has now agreed to drop her suit in exchange for an insurance payment representing a fraction of her demands and far less than the cost to Brian of proceeding to trial.”
However, Jane Doe insisted she reluctantly agreed to settle. Leading up to the trial, she claimed to Rolling Stone that she was subjected to “threats,” “harassment,” and bullied into dropping the case:
“I was fully prepared for trial and never in a million years thought I would ever settle, but over the past two-and-a-half years I have silently endured threats, bullying, harassment and various forms of intimidation that have intensified over the past few weeks.”
Doe even accused Marilyn and his legal team of using brutal intimidation tactics when he attended her seven-hour-long deposition — something that rarely happens:
“I was forced to answer seven hours of aggressive questioning with him staring at me from across the table. I’ve been told that this almost never happens, as it’s cruel, and that a main reason for it would be to intimidate and inflict emotional distress on a victim.”
WTF?! Despite how things turned out, the victim said she doesn’t “regret speaking up” and sharing her story at the end of the day:
“I never cared about money and only ever wanted justice, but if we had gone to trial, I could have lost my right to anonymity and been victim-blamed on a large and public scale. Most importantly I could have risked losing the freedom to tell my story, and that is worth more than anything in the world. If any other victims are reading this, please know that you are loved and supported even if it doesn’t feel that way, and that in spite of everything I’ve been through I don’t for one second regret speaking up.”
However, the rocker’s attorney fired back at her claims. King said to People:
“A little honesty is long overdue. If this individual had actually wanted to share her story, she could have done so in front of a jury next week. Instead, as soon as the facts came out, showing that her case was meritless, she settled for pennies on the dollar. As a result, since we wholeheartedly support her freedom to tell her story, we would be thrilled, with her permission, to release the full transcript of her deposition under oath, including the provocative emails and materials she sent to Mr. Warner after the alleged assaults, so that everyone else can know the truth as well.”
Our hearts go out to this woman following what must have been a traumatic ordeal. What are your thoughts on the settlement, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments below.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via Nicky Nelson/WENN]
