Since posting on Instagram on Monday alleging that Marilyn Manson abused her, Evan Rachel Wood has continued to use the platform to build a case against him.
In her Instagram stories, Wood has aggregated accusations against Manson from other women. She has also posted instructions — both in her stories and in her feed — about how to report him to the police. “If you wish to file a police report in connection to Brian Warner (Marilyn Manson), here are instructions from the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department,” Wood wrote on Tuesday. “I am also posting a quick run down of what to expect when you file a report, as well as any ramifications that may ensue from filing a false report.”
On Monday night, Wood posted a letter California State Senator Susan Rubio had sent to the FBI on January 21, asking that the FBI investigate Manson. Rubio and Wood worked together in 2019 to pass the Phoenix Act, a bill that extended the statute of limitations on domestic violence from three years to five years. In California, the bill became a law in January 2020, and Wood is currently working to get it passed in other states.
Manson’s manager did not respond to a call from Variety, but on Monday night, Manson denied Wood’s allegations — also on Instagram.
Wood has called herself a survivor of domestic violence for years. When talking about the Phoenix Act in an interview with Variety in late summer, Wood said she had gotten the idea “through my own experiences with the criminal justice system.”
“I also knew that the person who had hurt me had hurt other people,” Wood said in previously unpublished remarks. “And so it wasn’t just about me anymore. And I knew that I had a platform and a voice, and I needed to help.”
During the #MeToo movement of late 2017, social media was the medium through which accusers’ stories went viral, giving a platform to those who may have previously felt they had no outlet for their allegations. In fact, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook became the primary way for people who felt they had been wronged to get some measure of justice — perhaps especially for those who had gone to law enforcement or other through official channels, and been denied.
Also reminiscent of the #MeToo movement of 2017 is that the consequences for Manson have been swift and severe. His record label severed ties with him, CAA dropped him and the TV shows that thought to employ him are now quickly either editing him out of episodes (Starz’s “American Gods”) or killing them entirely (Shudder’s “Creepshow”).
Wood has not yet granted any interviews about her allegations. But for now, she is weaponizing Instagram to great effect to keep them front of mind.
She has used the platform to damningly recontextualize articles written about Manson in which he expressed violent thoughts toward her — and it was just seen as part of his shock-rocker schtick. In one of her stories, she annotated a 2009 Spin interview in which he talked explicitly about wanting to kill her: “The song ‘I Want to Kill You Like They Do in The Movies’ is about my fantasies,” the screenshot reveals. “I have fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.”
The article called Manson “wildly entertaining,” which Wood highlighted. And then she wrote in red, “Unless you are Evan Rachel Wood @spinmag.”