A Brian Warner aka Marilyn Manson assault victim lawsuit ended in a settlement after lots of ping pong in Los Angeles Superior Court.
The Marilyn Manson song Rock Is Dead could be paraphrased to say the same about journalism. We find ourselves in an age where journalistic standards take a backseat to strategic public relations. You can buy your way to the top of the headlines and anyone with a communications and PR background or simply a brain can see it.
One really has to go out of their way to try and determine what’s fact over propaganda. And it’s for that reason that legal matters are ever important to follow as the courtroom may be one of the last places with objectivity.
GOOD NEWS: Manson Has Rightfully Returned to Music
After more than two years out of the public eye, we now watch Brian Warner enjoy a deserved return performing. He was very silent in his absence, making it interesting to observe how he navigates publicity for his continued music career opposite ongoing legal battles.
As a refresher, “Marilyn Manson” abruptly lost his record label and was dropped from multiple film projects without due process in Feb. 2021 when HBO actresses Esme Bianco, Evan Rachel Wood and others accused him of sexual assault via a media campaign. The women appeared in television interviews with Good Morning America and The View as well as several major outlets ranging from Vanity Fair to Rolling Stone. There was even a two-part Phoenix Rising project currently streaming on HBO Max as well as a recent doc series titled Marilyn Manson Unmasked that was released via Paramount+ in Canada earlier this year.
The widely discussed accusations also translated to multiple civil lawsuits as well as criminal investigations with the FBI and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Dept. who exercised a warrant in Nov. 2021 to raid Manson’s private Hollywood residence — seizing multiple devices and hard drives.
And while to date we have not seen the rockstar face any criminal charges for the claims of sexual assault and human trafficking that he faces — he did plea no contest in Sept. 2023 on conviction of misdemeanor assault charges in New Hampshire. The conviction came from a 2019 performance where he assaulted a photographer named Susan Fountain with bodily fluids as she captured a concert from the pit.
This assault conviction didn’t make any major waves as it’s conduct not out of the norm within live hard rock and metal shows — the environment where Warner operates. Pits are far different than say an orchestra performance. Concert goers are in steady contact with one another and while admittedly not the most hygienic — bodily fluids do get in the mix.
Nonetheless, the incident at a 2019 concert is the only Brian Warner aka Marilyn Manson criminal assault conviction on the books.
WHAT WAS THE SENTENCING?
As for sentencing, Warner was ordered to serve 20 hours of community service and he did so at a Los Angeles organization that provides Alcoholic Anonymous meetings.
The musician has overcome a long battle of alcohol and drug use and is currently now more than two years sober. This is something to understandably be proud of and MM clearly is as he introduces himself on stage with “I’m Marilyn Manson and I’m a drug addict” before enthused audiences on his comeback tour.
On the wide spectrum of the serious allegations lodged against the controversial public figure, misdemeanor assault does pale in comparison to Evan Rachel Wood’s bold claim she was repeatedly sexually assaulted and abused in their prior relationship and Esme Bianco claiming she was human trafficked when flown from the UK to LA to film an unreleased music video.
Warner aka Marilyn Manson Assault Victim Lawsuit Ends In Settlement After Back and Forth
After Susan Fountain reported the 2019 incident to law enforcement, the Marilyn Manson assault victim went on to file a civil lawsuit in Aug. 2021 that was twice dismissed without prejudice for non-action by her attorney. And its off-and-on status has made headlines.
When the lawsuit was initially dismissed in Feb. 2023, that news was circulated in the media. The complaint later received coverage in Sept. 2023 when a plea to reopen the case was granted.
Things came to an end, again, in Jan. 2024 when Los Angeles Superior Court dismissed the case without prejudice for another non-appearance by Fountain’s attorney. Manson went on to complete his court-ordered community service and months passed with the matter seemingly over.
Over it was not, however.
Fountain returned in 2024 with another motion to reopen the case and a hearing was set for September. Before that could happen, a settlement notice was filed in LA County on Aug. 13 — indicating that the Warner aka Marilyn Manson assault victim lawsuit quietly came to an end.
Did she receive damages? Did she let the whole thing go? The terms are unknown and the settlement received no coverage by the media.
The misdemeanor assault, however, is a matter worth seeing to its completion and we’re at that phase.
Click here to review all the Fountain v. Manson civil court documents.
Where Does the Lawsuit Against Evan Rachel Wood and Illma Gore Stand?
Shortly after some form of settlement was reached with the Marilyn Manson assault victim in August, MM filed an opening appeal brief in the Supreme Court of California on Aug. 27 in his ongoing case against Evan Rachel Wood and her associate Ashley Illma Gore. This seeks to overturn a 2023 anti-slapp ruling from Hon. Teresa Beaudet with a heavy focus on the undisputed fake FBI letter circulated in court and the media.
News of the appeal and the fake FBI letter made headlines in August — possibly with the rockstar attempting to leverage an undeniable red flag on the women’s part as his green flag when returning to music.
After all, it is an attention-grabbing hook. Most Americans would likely agree falsifying evidence that impersonates a real federal agent shouldn’t be excused as protected “free speech.”
A Nov. 25 deadline was set for Gore and Wood to file their replies to the appeal. It seems likely Judge Beaudet’s ruling will at least be overturned in part as Gore never motioned to strike the forged document from Manson’s original lawsuit and LA County erred in giving her a freebie for such an act.
UPDATE: Right on the heels of this deadline, Rolling Stone broke news that Manson is dropping BOTH his appeal and the civil lawsuit — which had several non-speech-related claims that remained active.
AS FOR THE LAWSUITS AGAINST MANSON
Additional lawsuits included one dropped by former accuser Ashley Smithline who has become a witness for Manson in multiple cases, a lawsuit from Esme Bianco that ended with a Jan. 2023 settlement and a last-minute settlement with a Jane Doe pop singer in Sept. 2023 one week before trial.
Former personal assistant Ashley Walters’s lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice by a LA County judge but was reopened late last year on appeal. It’s currently set for a 2025 trial.
Additionally, Manson faces two lawsuits from model Bianca Allaine Kyne — whose claims date back to the 90s. A New York judge ordered dismissal of all parts relating to assault as a minor. Her attorneys did not comply with the court order and an amended complaint has not yet been finalized. Kyne also went onto file a second lawsuit in Louisiana on the same allegations.
Time will tell how the remaining active cases conclude.