Last week, Marilyn Manson accuser Ashley Morgan Smithline officially recanted her allegations against Manson in a written declaration, claiming that she "succumbed to pressure from Evan Rachel Wood and her associates to make accusations of rape and assault against Mr. Warner that were not true."
The declaration was to be used as evidence in Manson's defamation case against Wood — however, Wood has now provided evidence refuting Smithline's claim of manipulation, and a judge has ruled that Smithline's written declaration will not be used as evidence in next week's hearing.
As reported by Rolling Stone, a new court filing from Wood includes screenshots of Instagram comments from Smithline dating back to 2019, along with reported text messages, DMs, and voicemails from Smithline from the last three years. Per Wood's legal team, the evidence proves Smithline was lying when she claimed Wood pressured her into accusing Manson.
An Instagram comment from 2019 sees Smithline sympathizing with Wood over their similar experiences with Manson and writing, "I thought no one would ever talk about this." In another conversation from 2021, after she went public with her allegations and started receiving threats from Manson supporters, Smithline wrote, "I can't breathe. I have no reason to make this up," to which Wood replied, "Don't let anybody get to you. Just sit in your truth."
The filing also includes voicemails from Smithline to a friend in June 2022 in which she says she was contacted by Manson's attorney Howard King. "The only reason he'd be calling me… is that he thinks I'm the weak link and he might want to settle with me to turn on the other girls and say that it was all a ruse," she says on the recording.
In response to Wood's filing, Smithline told Rolling Stone, "Evan's full of shit. That's my comment… She's saying anything she can to discredit me." King said to Rolling Stone: "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. 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."
Manson has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women in recent years, including a lawsuit for sexual assault of a minor dating back to '90s. He settled out of court with actress Esmé Bianco in January.
The declaration was to be used as evidence in Manson's defamation case against Wood — however, Wood has now provided evidence refuting Smithline's claim of manipulation, and a judge has ruled that Smithline's written declaration will not be used as evidence in next week's hearing.
As reported by Rolling Stone, a new court filing from Wood includes screenshots of Instagram comments from Smithline dating back to 2019, along with reported text messages, DMs, and voicemails from Smithline from the last three years. Per Wood's legal team, the evidence proves Smithline was lying when she claimed Wood pressured her into accusing Manson.
An Instagram comment from 2019 sees Smithline sympathizing with Wood over their similar experiences with Manson and writing, "I thought no one would ever talk about this." In another conversation from 2021, after she went public with her allegations and started receiving threats from Manson supporters, Smithline wrote, "I can't breathe. I have no reason to make this up," to which Wood replied, "Don't let anybody get to you. Just sit in your truth."
The filing also includes voicemails from Smithline to a friend in June 2022 in which she says she was contacted by Manson's attorney Howard King. "The only reason he'd be calling me… is that he thinks I'm the weak link and he might want to settle with me to turn on the other girls and say that it was all a ruse," she says on the recording.
In response to Wood's filing, Smithline told Rolling Stone, "Evan's full of shit. That's my comment… She's saying anything she can to discredit me." King said to Rolling Stone: "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. 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."
Manson has been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women in recent years, including a lawsuit for sexual assault of a minor dating back to '90s. He settled out of court with actress Esmé Bianco in January.
