Justice for Marilyn Manson I Esme Bianco Amended Lawsuit with Deftones Complaint

ESME BIANCO DEFTONES COMPLAINT ADD-ONS

Let’s chat about the Esme Bianco Deftones complaint additions — because the judge has finally made a decision!

BACKGROUND

Esme Bianco is an actress and nude model who played a minor role in Game of Thrones and dated Manson for a period of time in 2011.

In February 2021, she came forward in a Good Morning America interview where she made some pretty strong and strange allegations against Manson. She claims she was abused but also human trafficked — because she was hired for a music video that required her to travel from the UK to LA for filming. This music video was filmed with Evan Rachel Wood as a costar but ultimately never released.

Shortly after coming forward to name Manson as an abuser — she worked with attorney Jay Ellwanger to file a lawsuit on April 30, 2021.

Her lawsuit has taken a bit of a journey. In July 2021, she filed an amended version in court and another amended complaint in May 2022.

I plan on getting much more into Esme’s claims and the many red flags about them — but today we’re covering the Deftones!

The May 2022 additions relate to the Esme Bianco Deftones allegations that Marilyn Manson interfered with a work opportunity she had to appear in concert footage on the band’s world tour. In her amended complaint, she states she participated in a video shoot with a highly regarded creative director that fell through.

APRIL 11, 2022: Bianco allegedly filmed footage for the Deftones tour
APRIL 12, 2022: Bianco publicized her involvement with the project on her Instagram
APRIL 14, 2022: Bianco claims she was told the her part wasn’t going to be used on tour because of Manson

Justice for Marilyn Manson I Esme Bianco claims on Deftones project

Taking Personal Accountability or No?

Before getting into Marilyn Manson’s response — it’s important to note that while Esme Bianco’s attorney Jay Ellwanger quickly drafted an amended complaint that Manson is the cause of this fallout and alleged breach of contract with the Deftones — Bianco has not filed a lawsuit against the Deftones.

Nor has Esme Bianco provided any evidence to date that there was truly a breach of contract.

It’s highly likely a band who has successfully worked in the entertainment field for decades fully compensated Bianco for the project but maintains creative license to use or not use footage as they see fit. After all, it is the Deftones tour. They deservingly have the right to make the final decision on what visuals actually make it on stage.

People purchase tickets to see the Deftones — not Esme Bianco.

Furthermore? Within the Esme Bianco Deftones complaint is acknowledgement that she did shoot the project. That gave her the opportunity to build a positive connection with the creative director. If future work opportunities don’t come from her work with them one could reasonably argue it’s on her. She had the opportunity to impress them with her talents and build a working relationship that could extend into additional projects.

But alas Bianco has made a trend of blaming Manson for her struggling career so it’s not altogether surprising she isn’t accepting accountability in this situation.

Justice for Marilyn Manson I Motion to dismiss Esme Bianco claims of interference with her Deftones contract

MANSON MOTION TO DISMISS

Just a couple weeks after Bianco filed her amended complaint with two causes additional causes of action that 1) Manson caused a breach of contract and 2) Manson hurt future economic opportunities for Bianco — Manson’s team filed a motion to dismiss these claims.

Manson’s primary arguments for dismissing these additional clauses:

The court doesn’t have proper jurisdiction
Bianco failed to establish a proper tort claim
Bianco failed to establish Manson even knew this project existed
Bianco failed to provide evidence of any probably future economic benefit that would arise from the project
Bianco failed to offer any terms or a copy of the alleged contract the Deftones ‘breached’

Both sides filed additional arguments in June 2022 to support their positions. After several months of no news, both Manson and Bianco attorneys filed a joint request for the court to make a decision on these clauses as they prepare for a Spring 2023 trial date.

The judge finally offered a ruling on December 12, 2022:

Justice for Marilyn Manson I Court ruling granting Esme Bianco clause 4 on the Deftones advancement into discovery — On Clause 4 – Breach of Contract

Justice for Marilyn Manson I Court ruling dismissing Esme Bianco clause 5 on the Deftones

COURT RULING

The judge, Fernando Aenell-Rocha, assigned to the case did take kindly to the Esme Bianco Deftones claim that Marilyn Manson is professionally in a position within the entertainment industry to influence others not to work with Bianco.

She has not yet offered proof supporting her claims against Manson on this matter but the judge has granted clause 4 — allowing her to explore that more in discovery.

On the other hand — the court did not see strong arguments from Bianco that this breakdown of a relationship with the Deftones is Manson causing her economic harm. Therefore, he ruled to dismiss the fifth cause of action from her complaint in December 2022.

Upon dismissal, the court granted her 20 days to make edits to this clause and re-file. And…. she did!

Esme Bianco THIRD Amended Lawsuit — Esme Bianco files a third amended lawsuit (fourth total complaint) against Manson.

Marilyn Manson motions to strike cause 5 of Esme Bianco's latest lawsuit — Manson’s motion to strike cause 5 – again – after succeeding the first time around.

Hop Back On the Merry Go Round

Esme Bianco took the court up on the option to make edits to her fifth cause of action that was rejected in December 2022 and filed a third amended lawsuit on January 3, 2023. New year, new lawsuit?

Because if at first you don’t succeed… try ~~one~~, ~~two~~ THREE more times!

And in what might be the most predictable move of all time considering their success the first time around, Marilyn Manson’s attorneys filed a motion to the court to once again strike this part of her lawsuit. His lead attorney Howard E. King was also sure to point out in multiple spots of their motion that Bianco’s attorney Jay Ellwanger made only one edit to the cause of action — a single added sentence.

Will that sentence hold the power to save the already-flawed argument?

That remains to be seen. A follow-up hearing has been set in mid-February to discuss this situation… a hearing that likely will be canceled with the judge going off written arguments as he has done in the past. Either way, stay tuned to see where this goes!

KEY DOCUMENT LINKS:

Updated January 2023 with the new amended lawsuit and motion to strike.