First off, happy Veterans’ Day to all those who have served — as well as those serving active duty.
I like so many have veterans in my family and it’s so important to recognize those vets among us. Manson’s late father, Hugh Warner, was also a Vietnam vet – so I wanted to honor his memory in that regard as well.
WHAT’S NEW IN THE CASES THIS WEEK?
Well, short answer is not a lot! But we have quite a bit coming up in just a few weeks that I wanted to touch on so we’re all in the loop. The first week of December is an extremely busy one.
Most notably is the anti-slapp hearing that I both look forward to and dread at the same time because no matter the outcome we should all expect the losing side to appeal. That will stall the Manson v. Wood and Gore case for a while. But we can’t move forward with the bigger claims of identity theft, hacking, etc. from Manson’s complaint without addresses these issues first.
- DEC 1: Anti-slapp hearing. (Learn more, here.)
- DEC. 2: Hearing in Bianco’s case with Jay Ellwanger trying to pass sanctions
- DEC. 5: Deadline for Ashley Smithline to appoint new representation
THREAD ON THE FAKE FBI LETTER
Ahead of the upcoming anti-slapp hearing where a judge will hear arguments from Wood to strike the “FBI” letter from Manson’s complaint – citing litigation privilege – I compiled all the receipts of the letter’s creations and uses into a shareable thread on Twitter.
🧵 On the forged FBI letter linked to Evan Rachel Wood and all the receipts on record, to date, on its creation and uses.#justiceformarilynmanson #evanrachelwoodisaliar pic.twitter.com/9FJE0JaERe
— Justice for Marilyn Manson (@standwithmanson) November 10, 2022
ON THE PODCAST
And guess what? Episode 4 of the “Justice for Marilyn Manson” podcast also features a much larger conversation about the FBI letter, it’s future within litigation and questions from listeners. Attorneys and part-time YouTubers “Southern Law” and Andrea Burkhart also weighed in on how they see things playing out.
Listen to their thoughts, our thoughts and more. Available on Spotify, iTunes, etc.
DEPOSITION UPDATE
A frequent question I’ve been getting lately surrounds depositions and I thought it made sense to answer for everyone here as well. It’s been over 21 months since multiple ladies came forward with abuse allegations against Marilyn Manson. Esme Bianco filed her lawsuit on April 30, 2021 and there’s been a lot of silence on depositions. But good news! They’re finally starting to take place.
ILLMA GORE:
Ordered by the court to be deposed in October 2022 on her mindset when spreading false rumors that Manson murdered a minor on film in the 90s. Spoiler alert — he didn’t! She wasn’t a minor. She’s also very much alive and filed a sworn declaration with Manson’s team in July 2022.
ASHLEY WALTERS:
On Nov. 2, the court granted Manson’s legal counsel a victory and Ashely Walters is now ordered to comply with a subpoena she’s been ghosting since August 9. She will sit for a deposition before the end of the year on Esme Bianco’s allegations against Manson as well as her relations with Evan Rachel Wood and Illma Gore surrounding those allegations in Bianco’s lawsuit. Furthermore, Ashley is going to have to turn over all her communications (text messages, emails, DMs, social media posts, etc.) with Bianco and related communications with Wood and Gore to Manson’s attorney at least 48 hours in advance of her deposition.
ASHLEY MORGAN SMITHLINE:
A stalled ship at the moment! Her attorney Jay Ellwanger quit her case (although he still represents Bianco) at the end of Sept. 2022. This all happened in a rather dramatic fashion and in fairness to Ashley – the court granted her a 60 day stay to lineup new representation. The judge set a deadline of Dec. 5 to identify new counsel to the court or choose to represent herself. Should she fail to meet this deadline the court may dismiss her lawsuit. The outcome of her hearing will impact her already delayed deposition in the Bianco case.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HOLY WOOD
On 11/11/22, Manson’s Holy Wood album turns 22.
Many name it as their favorite album of all. I struggle to name an overall favorite, but can say it’s the album I connect to most on a personal level. It’s also one that’s been on the mind quite a bit in the wake of this decade’s canceling.
While the circumstances of what sent Manson out of public view in the wake of the Columbine tragedy are very different than the circumstances of today — the power of the album that came from that period has also taken on new meaning. What’s your favorite song? The Fall of Adam is mine.