A lawsuit filed by a woman who worked as a personal assistant to Marilyn Manson has been dismissed, as Rolling Stone reports. According to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Stern, Ashley Walters’ accusations of sexual assault, battery, and harassment have surpassed the state of California’s two-year statute of limitations. “The plaintiff has pleaded too few facts and too late to keep this case in court,” he wrote in his ruling. Walters first sued the musician for sexual assault, battery, and harassment in May of last year.
Walters worked as Manson’s assistant between 2010 and 2011. Walters claimed that, during that time, Manson had promised creative opportunities but instead subjected her to verbal and psychological abuse, as well as multiple instances of sexual harassment. She told The Cut that Manson had hacked into her Facebook account after firing her in a paranoid fit.
Manson has faced multiple accusations of sexual assault, abuse, and battery since Evan Rachel Wood publicly named him as her abuser for the first time in February 2021. After Wood came forward, several other women began taking legal action for similar allegations against Manson, including actor Esmé Bianco, model Ashley Morgan Smithline, and an anonymous Jane Doe who claimed she’d dated Manson in 2011. In September, a judge dismissed Jane Doe’s suit, ruling that her allegations were “not sufficient to invoke the delayed discovery rule.” She refiled within days, and her suit remains open.
As the abuse allegations piled up, the label Loma Vista Recordings dropped Manson from its roster, and Manson was cut out from scenes he’d shot for the TV shows American Gods and Creepshow. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced that it was opening an investigation into the accusations against Manson in February 2021, and the department carried out a search of Manson’s home in November.
Amid the investigation in Los Angeles, Manson surrendered himself to authorities in New Hampshire over a 2019 warrant. He pleaded not guilty to the two misdemeanor charges of assault against a photographer in September. Manson has repeatedly denied all other allegations of abuse and assault against him.
In January, Evan Rachel Wood announced Phoenix Rising, a two-part documentary focused on her allegations of Manson’s abuse and its aftermath. She produced the project in secret with director Amy Berg, revealing details of Manson’s alleged torture and manipulation. Wood also claimed that Manson had sexually assaulted her on camera while shooting a music video. Manson is now suing her for defamation, but Wood addressed her feelings in a March interview with The View: “I’m not scared.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to reach out for support:
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
http://www.rainn.org
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)
Crisis Text Line
http://www.facebook.com/crisistextline (chat support)
SMS: Text “HERE” to 741-741
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