Evan Rachel Wood: I never ‘manipulated’ ex-Marilyn Manson accuser
Evan Rachel Wood emphatically denies that she “manipulated” Ashley Morgan Smithline into making false rape allegations against their mutual ex, Marilyn Manson.
“I never pressured or manipulated Ashley Morgan Smithline to make any accusations against [Manson],” the “Thirteen” star, 35, said in a Feb. 27 declaration filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court in connected to Manson’s suit against Wood, obtained by Page Six Tuesday.
“And I certainly never pressured or manipulated her to make accusations that were not true.”
Wood then refuted the claim Smithline made in her legal declaration that people in Wood’s inner circle reached out with the intent to coerce her.
Wood noted that the model allegedly contacted her first via Instagram in March 2019.
The “Westworld” alum provided screenshots of their alleged social media interactions as attachments to her declaration, which included an Instagram comment from Smithline on one of Wood’s posts, which allegedly read, “when he had me captive in the stupid ballet studio, i cringed hearing him brag about replaying that scene from rules of attraction to you… i thought no one would ever talk about this…”
Wood said in her declaration that the comment resonated with her because Manson, 54, had allegedly sexually abused her while watching the same film, “Rules of Attraction,” and that information was not publicly available at the time.
Wood publicly named Manson as her alleged abuser for the first time in February 2021. She has since accused the shock rocker of threatening to “f–k” her then-8-year-old son and forcing her to have sex on camera.
During several of Wood and Smithline’s other alleged Instagram exchanges, messages that Wood attributes to Smithline repeatedly expressed distress over Manson’s “loud” fandom, who allegedly attacked her for speaking out against the “Tainted Love” singer, according to the exhibits.
In a People magazine cover story in May 2021, Smithline alleged that Manson “whipped her, cut her with a swastika-emblazoned knife and shoved his fist in her mouth during sex.”
Wood, per the messages provided in the declaration that are attributed to Smithline, appeared to comfort the model over the backlash, telling her, “They don’t run stories like this without something to back it up. You are very credible” and also encouraged her to “block” and “ignore” the trolls.
Per the court documents, Wood also claimed the only time she met Smithline in person was for the filming of her HBO documentary, “Phoenix Rising,” in October 2020. A source previously reiterated the same claim to Page Six.
Manson’s attorney, Howard King, tells Page Six exclusively in response to Wood’s declaration: “It is unsurprising that Evan Rachel Wood is desperately fighting to keep Ashley Smithline’s testimony out of court – because she knows the truth will expose her plot to manipulate the women who trusted her in order to destroy Brian Warner.”
The statement continued, “Brian Warner never abused anyone. Ashley Smithline has told the truth. It’s sadly predictable that Evan Rachel Wood – someone who has already filed a forged FBI letter under oath in other court proceedings — remains committed to not doing the same.”
Wood has stood by her claims against Manson — despite the lawsuit — and it is unclear if she has directly responded to allegation that she once impersonated an FBI agent.
Smithline, for her part, tells Page Six in response to Wood’s declaration: “Evan’s full of s–t. She calls people narcissistic and sociopaths. Watch her film ‘Pretty Persuasion.’ Literally a roadmap of this whole thing. Or ‘The Crucible.'”
She continues, “This is what happens when horrible girls get bored. She’s destroying people with no conscience just because she can … She’s saying anything she can to discredit me.”
Reps for Wood did not immediately return our requests for a response to Smithline’s response or further comment on their client’s declaration.
Monday’s legal filing comes days after Smithline claimed in court documents that she “succumbed to pressure” from “Wood and her associates to make accusations of rape and assault against [Manson] that were not true.”
The model claimed she was invited to group meetings with other alleged victims of Manson, in which she was asked about the alleged abuse she experienced.
Smithline said, per the documents, that she was told “just because she could not remember” those things “did not necessarily mean that it did not happen,” and so she started to believe the alleged falsehoods.
King confirmed exclusively to Page Six that Smithline was not paid for speaking out against Wood and in favor of Manson.
The “Dope Show” singer has been accused by more than a dozen women of sexual misconduct, but only a few have taken their claims to court.
However, nearly all of the cases have been dismissed, among them was Smithline’s, whose was tossed out in January after she failed to find new legal counsel.
There are now two cases left filed by accusers identified only as Jane Doe, including one woman who accused Manson of sexually assaulting her when she was just a teen.
Manson has denied all of the allegations against him, and has filed a defamation and conspiracy lawsuit against Wood and her girlfriend, Illma Gore.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles District Attorney is investigating the allegations, but Manson has not been charged for his alleged crimes.
