Marilyn Manson drops suit against ex Evan Rachel Wood after two years

Marilyn Manson has dropped all ligation against ex-girlfriend Evan Rachel Wood over allegations of sexual assault she made against him via multiple platforms.

The 55-year-old musical artist, whose real name is Brian Warner, dropped a lawsuit and related appeal, and said he would cover Wood's $327,000 legal bill following a judge's order to do so earlier this year, sources told TMZ.

'After 4 years of fighting a battle where he was able to tell the truth,' Manson's lawyer Howard King told TMZ, 'Brian is pleased to dismiss his still-pending claims and appeal in order to close the door on this chapter of his life.'

Wood's legal team of Michael Kump, Shawn Holley and Katherine Kleindienst told Rolling Stone in a statement that Manson attempted to reach a settlement with Wood amid the time of his appeal filed in August.

Wood's lawyers said that The Dope Show singer made an offer - which the actress, 37, declined - in which she would have had to release a joint statement and keep all terms of the deal classified, in exchange for him paying for a percentage of the suit.

Ultimately, Wood's legal team said Manson covered all of her bills related to the litigation, and dropped his lawsuit.

Manson's lawsuit in the first place was 'a publicity stunt to try to undermine the credibility of his many accusers and revive his faltering career,' a rep for Wood said in a statement to the outlet. 'But his attempt to silence and intimidate Ms. Wood failed.

'As the trial court correctly found, Warner's claims were meritless. Warner's decision to finally abandon his lawsuit and pay Ms. Wood her full fee award of almost $327,000 only confirms as much.'

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Manson in March of 2022 filed the suit against the Westworld actress prior to the release of her HBO documentary Phoenix Rising: Don't Fall.

Manson in his suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court said that Wood and artist Illma Gore had engaged in a 'conspiracy' to smear him as 'a rapist and abuser' in an effort to sabotage his 'successful music, TV, and film career.'

In the two-part doc, Wood said The Beautiful People artist, who she was engaged to at one point, sexually assaulted and emotionally abused her during the time they were in a relationship from 2006 until 2010.

Manson, whose catalogue includes hit covers such as Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Personal Jesus and Tainted Love, subsequently faced allegations of abuse from more than 12 women after Phoenix Rising: Don't Fall aired in March of 2022.

Wood said in a February 2021 Instagram post, 'The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson. 

'He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail.'

Wood said she was 'here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives' and stood 'with the many victims who will no longer be silent.'

Manson issued a statement on social media at the time in response to Wood's initial statement, saying, 'Obviously, my art and my life have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality.

'My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how - and why - others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth.'

The vocalist has denied all of the allegations against him.