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A former girlfriend who had accused Marilyn Manson of abuse has backed away from the allegations in a declaration of help filed in his defamation lawsuit in opposition to Evan Rachel Wooden.
Ashley Morgan Smithline alleges that she publicly accused Manson of sexual assault and sexual battery solely as a result of she was pressured by Wooden, in accordance with a declaration filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court docket.
A consultant for Wooden denied the allegations, saying in a press release that “Evan by no means pressured or manipulated Ashley.”
Wooden has mentioned Manson “horrifically abused” her for years.
Manson has denied any wrongdoing.
Manson, whose authorized identify is Brian Warner, filed a defamation swimsuit final 12 months accusing Wooden of getting “secretly recruited, coordinated and pressured” girls to accuse him of abuse.
Smithline got here ahead with allegations in opposition to Manson in an interview with Individuals journal in Could 2021. She accused him of getting subjected her to bodily, sexual and psychological abuse from 2010 to 2013.
Manson was accused of whipping Smithline, carving his initials into her physique, penetrating her whereas she was unconscious and different conduct. The Individuals report included a photograph of Smithline in a towel, exhibiting what gave the impression to be a scar on her thigh that she referred to within the interview and alleged was brought on by Manson.
Smithline instructed Those who she started to heal solely after she spoke with different girls about their experiences with Manson in 2020. She mentioned assembly others, together with Wooden, helped reduce “these emotions of guilt and disgrace.”
Within the new courtroom doc, Smithline says she felt “manipulated” by the ladies to make the allegations. She mentioned within the declaration of help that she had denied being abused when she spoke with Wooden in 2020.
“After I mentioned, no this didn’t occur to me and this was not my expertise, I recall being instructed by Ms. Wooden that simply because I couldn’t keep in mind didn’t essentially imply that it didn’t occur,” Smithline mentioned in her submitting.
Smithline filed a federal lawsuit in 2021 accusing Manson of sexual assault, human trafficking and illegal imprisonment.
Wooden’s consultant alleges “it was Ashley who first contacted Evan in regards to the abuse she had suffered,” including, “it’s unlucky that the harassment and threats Ashley obtained after submitting her federal lawsuit seem to have pressured her to vary her testimony.”
A choose dismissed the swimsuit with out prejudice final month after her legal professional, Jay Ellwanger, withdrew from her case and Smithline failed to answer the courtroom’s request for a call about new illustration.
Ellwanger has additionally represented “Sport of Thrones” actor Esmé Bianco, a Manson accuser who settled her claims out of courtroom final month. Smithline mentioned in her declaration that it was Bianco who steered Ellwanger as potential illustration.
Smithline accused Ellwanger of together with “unfaithful” claims of violence and nonconsensual sexual exercise within the 2021 grievance he filed on her behalf in U.S. District Court docket for Central California.
Ellwanger mentioned he couldn’t get into particulars about Smithline’s allegations in opposition to him, citing moral obligations of shopper confidentiality. He denied her characterization of his illustration as “categorically and verifiably false.”
Howard King, Manson’s legal professional, mentioned Thursday that Smithline’s testimony proves the allegations in opposition to his shopper are unfaithful.
“As we have now at all times mentioned, the coordinated marketing campaign of #MeToo lies in opposition to Brian Warner goes to go down as one of many biggest hoaxes of all time,” King mentioned. “Weak girls have been manipulated by unscrupulous people searching for to construct their very own manufacturers and pursue their very own vendettas.”
Wooden has denied the allegations in Manson’s defamation swimsuit, which embody a declare that she solid a letter from the FBI to steer different girls to participate in her documentary about abuse, “Phoenix Rising,” which aired on HBO final 12 months.
In an opposition movement, Wooden’s legal professional accused Manson of submitting the defamation swimsuit as retaliation for her choice to go public along with her abuse allegations. The movement accuses Manson of making an attempt to silence Wooden.
Wooden testified to a Home Judiciary subcommittee in 2018 that she had been raped twice, first by an abusive accomplice after which by a person within the storage closet of a bar. She didn’t identify them on the listening to.
In an Instagram put up in 2021, she accused Manson of “grooming me after I was a young person” and mentioned he “horrifically abused me for years.”
Manson has not been charged with any crime linked to Wooden’s allegations. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division submitted a case for assessment to the district legal professional’s workplace in September after a 19-month investigation by the particular sufferer’s unit.
The prosecutor’s workplace has not given a public replace on a call about whether or not Manson will face costs.
This text was initially revealed on NBCNews.com
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