Evan Rachel Wood, 35, is denying claims that she “pressured,” Ashley Morgan Smithline, 36, to make false rape allegations against Marilyn Manson, 54.
On February 27, the “Thirteen,” star filed a legal declaration in the same Los Angeles Superior Court connected to Manson’s defamation lawsuit against her. According to the declaration, Wood clearly denies she neither “pressured,” nor “manipulated,” Smithline to make any accusations against their mutual ex. “I never pressured or manipulated Ashley Morgan Smithline to make any accusations against [Manson], and I certainly never pressured or manipulated her to make accusations that were not true,” Wood said in the declaration. Wood also denies allegations that individuals in her inner circle purportedly reached out to Smithline to “coerce,” her and firmly states that the model first contacted her via Instagram in 2019. The legal declaration also outlines Wood’s claims that the only time she and Smithline ever met in person was in October 2020 during the filming of her “Pheonix Rising,” HBO documentary.
In addition to her own personal statements, Wood also submitted screenshots that allegedly reveal her social media interactions with Smithline. One of the screenshots submitted is reportedly a comment from Smithline on one of Wood’s IG posts in which the model alluded to being held “captive,” by Manson. “When he had me captive in the stupid ballet studio, i cringed hearing him brag about replaying that scene from rules of attraction to you… i thought no one would ever talk about this…” Smithline allegedly wrote. Wood went on to clarify in the declaration that the comment was significant because Manson allegedly sexually abused her while playing the same film “Rules Of Attraction,” which the actress says was information that wasn’t “publicly available,” at the time of Smithline’s purported comment on the post. Additionally, according to a report from Rolling Stone, Wood provided a 2022 voicemail from Smithline which allegedly captures the model stating that she believed Manson’s attorney, Howard King, wanted her to “turn on the other girls and say that it was all a ruse.”
Wood’s legal filing follows a declaration filed by Manson’s lawyer on February 25. In the filing King submitted, Smithline claimed the sexual abuse allegations she made about Manson were false. In the declaration, Smithline also alleged that Wood had repeatedly told her that just because she couldn’t remember what happened “did not necessarily mean that it did not happen.” In June 2021, Smithline and her then-lawyer Jay D. Ellwanger, appeared on “The View” together to detail Smithline’s alleged sexual misconduct experiences with Manson. In yet another twist, Smithline had her sexual abuse case against Manson dismissed without prejudice in December 2022 after failing to find new legal representation following the approval of Ellwanger’s motion to withdraw.
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In 2021, Wood named Manson as her alleged abuser for the first time — following her 2018 appearance in front of Congress regarding sexual abuse. Wood, who was engaged to Manson in 2010, claimed Manson allegedly groomed her as a teen and purportedly abused her throughout their relationship. Woods has since alleged that Manson purportedly abused her on multiple occasions. Wood told People in May 2021 that Manson “whipped her, cut her with a swastika-emblazoned knife and shoved his fist in her mouth during sex.” The actress has also alleged that Manson threatened to “fuck,” her then-eight-year-old son and allegedly forced her to have sex on camera against her own will.
In an exclusive statement to Page Six Manson’s attorney responded to Wood’s declaration with the following statement; “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.”
King continued, “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.”
In total, Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner has been accused of sexual assault by more than a dozen women, including a woman who claims he allegedly assaulted her when she was 16 years old on a tour bus.