Evan Rachel Wood Denies Pressuring Marilyn Manson Accuser Who Recanted

Evan Rachel Wood says she never pressured Marilyn Manson accuser Ashley Morgan Smithline to make allegations against the musician after the woman recanted her statement earlier this month.

Responding to an earlier filing by Smithline, Wood said in a declaration filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter that she had no contact with Smithline prior to an Oct. 21, 2020, “meeting of survivors” filmed as part of the HBO doc Phoenix Rising.

She added, “I had not met her, I had not communicated with her, and I did not know who she was” prior to Smithline commenting on one of Wood’s March 2019 posts in which the actress discussed the abuse she allegedly experienced at the hands of a man she would later reveal to be Manson (legally known as Brian Warner).

That statement, along with several exhibits of social media interactions between Smithline and the Westworld actress included in the court filing, led Wood to deny she had any influence on Smithline’s allegations and their subsequent withdrawal.

“I never pressured or manipulated Ashley Morgan Smithline to make any accusations against Plaintiff Brian Warner, and I certainly never pressured or manipulated her to make accusations that were not true,” Wood said in the declaration. “It was Ms. Smithline who first contacted me in March 2019.”

The dueling filings are part of a lawsuit from Manson against Wood and Illma Gore, and come a month after a separate lawsuit against Manson from Smithline was dismissed. In her own Los Angeles Superior Court filing, Smithline stated she was “manipulated” by Wood and others to accuse Manson of sexual and physical abuse.

“I succumbed to pressure from Evan Rachel Wood and her associates to make accusations of rape and assault against [Manson] that were not true,” she said in the Feb. 19 declaration also obtained by THR.

In her filing, Smithline told the court that she had a “brief, consensual sexual relationship with Brian Warner,” who is known as Marilyn Manson, in November 2010. Smithline also recanted her previous claims against the metal rocker in which she alleged that Warner committed sexual assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, human trafficking and unlawful imprisonment, among other allegations.

In her filing and response, Wood, while denying she had pressured Smithline, includes screenshots of alleged Instagram private messages between herself and Smithline. That includes a May 5, 2021, exchange following a People magazine interview where Wood accused Manson of sexual and physical abuse.  

“I can’t breathe. I have no reason to make this up!” Smithline appeared to tell Wood as part of the Instagram private message contained in Wood’s L.A. court filing. “It hurts to see how thoughtless people can be,” Smithline allegedly added at the time as Wood attempted to reassure her.