Marilyn Manson is facing fresh allegations of sexual assault and harassment, this time from his former personal assistant.
Ashley Walters filed a complaint last Wednesday (May 12) with the Superior Court of Los Angeles Country in which she details several alleged incidents of abuse, dating back to 2010 and 2011.
Walters was an aspiring photographer when she first met Manson (real name Brian Warner), who had complimented her work on social media, according to the suit.
Soon after they met, Manson overstepped boundaries, the document explains. Despite this, when the rocker reportedly implied he could further Walter’s creative career and offered twice what she was earning as an office coordinator for a production company, Walters accepted his invitation for work.
According to published reports, Walters was hired as Manson’s PA in August 2010, and was subjected to a toxic working environment, in which she faced aggression, violence, threats and more before her departure the following year, which she details in the suit.
Walters, now 37, also claims Manson made her work for 48 hours straight, and he invited his friends to sexually assault her.
In one alleged incident, Manson pushed Walters onto the lap of an actor during an awards show in September 2010, and said he could “have her,” the lawsuit reads. “The actor proceeded to kiss Walters and keep her on his lap,” the document continues. In a separate incident the following month, Walters details a situation where Manson introduced her to a director who repeatedly groped her and put his hand up her skirt while covering her mouth.
“It made me feel like I was his property,” she tells the Cut. “It just made me feel like a piece of meat.”
In total, Walters makes six legal claims, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual battery, and infliction of emotional distress.
She’s seeking back pay and lost wages and an unspecified sum in damages, and she wants the veteran artist and his employees at Marilyn Manson Recordings Inc. to participate in anti-sexual harassment and anti-sexual violence classes.
Walters is one of over a dozen women who have alleged abuse at the hands of Manson, and she becomes the second woman to submit a legal claim against him, following Game of Thrones actress Esmé Bianco’s suit, filed April 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
In February, Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood named Manson, her former partner, as her alleged abuser. Soon after her claims were broadcast, Manson was dropped by Loma Vista Recordings label, CAA and longtime manager Tony Ciulla.
Billboard made earlier attempts to reach Manson for comment.
Stories about sexual assault allegations can be traumatizing for survivors of sexual assault. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can reach out to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN). The organization provides free, confidential support to sexual assault victims. Call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organization’s website for more information.
