This post deals with domestic violence, sexual abuse and suicide and might be triggering for some readers.
Evan Rachel Wood is a passionate advocate for domestic violence survivors and has been using her platform to call for change for many years.
Only recently has she revealed who her alleged abuser was.
In February 2021, Wood named her former fiancé and singer Marilyn Manson as her abuser a decade after she alleged he subjected her to "horrific abuse". She is not the first woman to level serious allegations against Manson.
Wood was 18 years old when she first met Manson, then 36, and dated him for three years until 2010.
Watch: Evan Rachel Wood talks about her fight for domestic abuse victims. Post continues below.
She inspired his 2007 song 'Heart-Shaped Glasses', and appeared in the video, making out with him as fake blood rained down on them both.
Now aged 34, Wood shared on her Instagram last year: "The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson."
She continued: "He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. 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," she wrote.
"I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent."
"[It] was, weirdly, the best-worst thing that ever happened to me. Cause it did not work. I am still standing. I am alive. I am happy. I am strong. But I am still not okay," she told Rolling Stone.
This week, Wood shared for the first time that in 2011, she discovered she was pregnant with the baby of Manson.
"From the beginning of our relationship, he always had an issue with whatever birth control I was using — and I went through, like, every type to see which one he liked, and he didn’t like any of them, so essentially he didn’t want me using birth control," Wood said in part two of the HBO docuseries Phoenix Rising.
In the docuseries, Wood said Manson refused to wear a condom during their time together. After deciding to terminate the pregnancy, Wood said Manson demanded she cook him dinner straight after she came home from the abortion.
"He flew out for the abortion. The second it was over it was like, 'Make me dinner.' And I remember being like, 'I'm supposed to be resting, my body has gone through this trauma… there's aftermath here.' And he didn't care."
The ordeal left Wood suicidal, and she tried to take her own life.
Phoenix Rising premiered at the 2022 Sundance film festival and immediately made headlines.
In the first instalment of the docuseries, Wood alleged Manson had raped her on the set of the music video of 'Heart-Shaped Glasses'.
During the documentary, Wood said that during a previously discussed "simulated sex scene", Manson "started penetrating me for real" once the cameras were rolling. Wood said she was fed absinthe on the set and was barely conscious to object to Manson's alleged actions.
"I had never agreed to that. It was complete chaos, and I did not feel safe. No one was looking after me. [The crew] was very uncomfortable and nobody knew what to do."
She continued: "I was coerced into a commercial sex act under false pretences. That's when the first crime was committed against me and I was essentially raped on camera. But I was scared to do anything that would upset Brian in any way. The video was just the beginning of the violence that would keep escalating over the course of the relationship."
In the wake of the attacks, Wood was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"My experience with domestic violence was this: toxic mental, physical and sexual abuse which started slow but escalated over time, including threats against my life, severe gaslighting and brainwashing, waking up to the man that claimed to love me raping what he believed to be my unconscious body," she said.
Wood went on to say Manson "made threats against my life, sometimes with deadly weapons", alleging that he also tortured and starved her, monitored her phone usage and threatened her with blackmail.
This week, it was revealed that Manson is suing Wood for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, with the lawsuit alleging that Wood’s allegations were fabricated.
In an Instagram post last year, Wood also shared the testimonies of four more women who accused Manson of horrifying physical and emotional abuse, including torture.
One woman, Ashley Walters, a former personal assistant of Manson, accused the singer of "psychological abuse".
"He was very skilled at gaslighting his inner circle," she shared on Instagram.
"I'd witness him inflict his psychological abuse on everyone he employed, everyone he dated. He would dictate the perimeters of our reality. Horrifying, deranged behaviour and insane scenarios became normalised. He was extremely interested in mind control, torture tactics and spy devices to gather information for blackmailing and manipulation."
Amid the serious sexual assault allegations, Manson is now facing up to four lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault, battery and harassment as well as an investigation into allegations of domestic violence incidents by the Los Angeles County sheriff's department. Manson was also dropped by his record label, Loma Vista.
Wood has since become an incredibly vocal advocate for domestic violence survivors.
In 2018, Wood appeared before the US House Judiciary Committee amid a campaign for the 2016 Survivors’ Bill of Rights Act to be enacted across the US. In 2019 she also testified to the California Senate Public Safety Committee in support of a bill expanding the rights of victims of domestic violence.
If this post brings up any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. It doesn’t matter where you live, they will take your call and, if need be, refer you to a service closer to home.
If you think you may be experiencing depression or another mental health problem, please contact your general practitioner. If you're based in Australia, 24-hour support is available through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.
This article was originally published on January 25, 2022, and was updated on March 9, 2022.
Feature Image: Getty/Instagram @evanrachelwood.