Evan Rachel Wood got emotional while speaking with Drew Barrymore about her alleged abuser Marilyn Manson.
On Thursday, the 34-year-old actress appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show to discuss her new documentary Phoenix Rising, where she detailed the abuse she allegedly suffered at the hands of the famous singer. As you most likely know, Wood and Manson – whose real name is Brian Warner – were together on and off between 2006 and 2010 when she was still a teenager.
Back in February 2021, the Frozen star first then accused the 53-year-old rocker of sexual abuse, claiming on Instagram he had “started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years.” However, she actually had been speaking about the abuse she faced in the past without naming any names. And in the new interview, Wood shared that it was her 8-year-old son Jack who pushed her to come forward with revealing her abuser as Manson. She explained:
“That was the catalyst because really, it was like, how do I live with myself knowing that I am the example for this young person, if I can’t speak up for myself and for other people? Especially in a time such as this that we are living in when these things are getting pushed to the surface, and now is the time for truth and healing and having those hard conversations. And if I run away from this now, what do I tell my child? You know, be that person. If you have the platform and the privilege to help other people, dear God, use it. And I just felt I just had to do it.”
Related: Evan Rachel Wood Demands YouTube Remove Marilyn Manson Video
In fact, when Wood first testified on behalf of sexual assault survivors in 2018, she never thought she would speak about her assault again. But the response ended up being overwhelming for her afterward, explaining:
“When I first started speaking about my abuse I was still sort of in the midst of processing it. When I testified in front of Congress for another bill, for the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights, I thought that was going to be it. I thought that was going to be the only time I told my story. I thought I was going to leave it there, walk away, move on. And then I saw, after I testified, all of these stories popping up on the internet and when I saw that, it was like a bomb went off, and I can tell by the details in their stories that they knew things that nobody else knew. I knew they were telling the truth. And there was this amazing moment of liberation that I’m not crazy. The way this person gaslit me, any time I questioned them, any time I challenged them. The way they made me feel like I was so wrong and I was so unhinged and to see that I was right like I can trust myself.”
As we previously reported, several other women have since come forward with similar allegations like Wood against Manson. Game of Thrones actress Esme Bianco, his former assistant Ashley Walters, model Ashley Morgan Smithline, and an unidentified person have even filed lawsuits against him, alleging that he raped, assaulted, and trafficked them. In the new documentary, Wood even claimed she was “essentially raped” by Manson while working on his 2007 music video for the song Heart-Shaped Glasses. Speaking with Barrymore, the Westworld star recalled how “uncomfortable” and “terrible” that moment was for her, expressing:
“I knew that I was uncomfortable and that something terrible was happening, but it was that, ‘Oh God, if I say anything, I’m gonna get in trouble. It’s gonna hurt me. It’s gonna hurt my career. I can never tell anybody that this happened.’ And again, just denial, denial, push it down, push it down.”
She continued:
“The Heart-Shaped Glasses video there’s no nudity contract that was drawn up. Normally when you do an explicit sex scene, it is talked about before, ‘This is what we are going to do. This is what we are going to show. This is what we are going to agree to. The footage will be destroyed afterwards.’ You sign a contract. That just didn’t exist because this wasn’t the plan. It wasn’t until the cameras were rolling that my clothes started being pulled off of me. But I do remember that day when things started happening very specifically having the thought, ‘Wait, this isn’t a dream, this is really happening.’ Like, I felt like I was in a dreamlike state, I was so out of it.”
And unfortunately for Wood, the alleged abuse did not end there, and she often felt gaslit by Manson over what abuse she faced during their relationship:
“The analogy we often use is the lobster slowly boiling in the pot. You don’t just stick it straight into the boiling water. You stick it in cold water and you just slowly turning the heat up until you’re suddenly like ‘I’m sorry are you cooking me alive.’ And that is sort of the analogy for gaslighting, grooming, and brainwashing. You’re lured into this false sense of security at first and this is why abusive relationships can be so complicated because so much of the abuse is disguised as love and that this is for you’re own good or you don’t know what you’re talking about. Somebody really takes controls.”
Now, Wood is ultimately hoping to keep telling her story in order to help others heal who have been a victim of sexual assault:
“It’s like, by healing others, you also heal yourself, and it gives the pain a purpose. And if I can turn this into a healing moment and a moment for education and prevention and to shine some light on this issue that is severely under-reported and misunderstood, then that brings me happiness. Then that brings me healing as well.”
For his part, Manson has denied the claims. He is also taking action against Wood, claiming defamation.
As always, we appreciate the vulnerability Wood showed throughout this interview. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments.
[Image via The Drew Barrymore Show/YouTube, WENN]
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