Trent Reznor, the Oscar-winning composer and frontman of Nine Inch Nails, has denied claims to have been involved in a sexual assault alongside Marilyn Manson, made by Manson in her memoirs.
Earlier this week, Manson was accused by his former partner, actor Evan Rachel Wood, of years of “horrible” abuse. He had previously accused an unnamed person of sexual assault, physical violence, including torture, and various forms of emotional abuse. Four other women simultaneously published accounts of Manson’s sexual, physical, and emotional abuse.
He denies the allegations, calling them “terrible distortions of reality” and saying that “my intimate relationships have always been completely consensual.”
Following the allegations, an excerpt from Manson’s 1998 autobiography, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, began circulating online, in which Manson claims that he and Reznor sexually assaulted a severely intoxicated woman. Reznor responded by saying:
Over the years, I’ve been vocal about my aversion to Manson as a person and have severed ties with him almost 25 years ago. As I said back then, the passage from Manson’s memoirs is a complete fabrication. I felt infuriated and offended when he left and I still am today.
The excerpt from the book comes from an unpublished 1995 interview by Manson with Empyrean magazine. An editor’s note in the book explains that the interview was never printed in empirical because the magazine’s editors “believed the magazine had followed unethical interview procedures to extract information from Mr. Manson.”
Reznor and Manson were once close, with Reznor signing him to his Nothing Records label and co-producing his first two albums. He later cut ties and in 2009 told Manson “a malicious boy [who] he will step on anyone’s face to succeed and cross any line of decency. Seeing him now, drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he has become a clown. “
Following the allegations of the five women mentioned this week, other women have allegedly abused Manson.
Model Scarlett Kapella alleges emotional, physical and sexual abuse; musician Chloe Black alleges physical and verbal abuse; artist and filmmaker Louise Keay Bell, who has previously filed complaints against the singer, reiterated her claims that she “abused me emotionally and financially” and harassed her after the initial allegations. Fashion stylist Love Bailey claims she had a Glock gun to her head in a 2011 incident and retailer Torii Lynn also alleges that Manson abused her. Manson has not responded to these particular allegations. The Guardian has contacted his address for comments.
Following this week’s allegations, Manson has been removed by his Loma Vista Recordings label and removed from two American television series where he was to appear.
Los Angeles police were called to the singer’s home Wednesday night to check the singer’s well-being and told the Daily Mail that “there was no evidence of any problems.”
His ex-wife Dita Von Teese made a statement after the allegations, saying she had not experienced abuse of Manson and that her marriage had ended in “infidelity and drug abuse.”