Evan Rachel Wood Fires Back At Woman Who Accused Actress Of Manipulating Her Into Spreading Lies About Marilyn Manson
Feb. 28 2023, Published 11:00 a.m. ET
Evan Rachel Wood has rushed to court to defend herself against allegations she “manipulated” a woman named Ashley Lindsay Morgan Smithline, RadarOnline.com has learned.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, Wood denied the allegations included in a declaration written by Smithline that was submitted to the court by Manson.
Manson sued Wood for defamation claiming she conspired with her girlfriend to ruin his life. The two dated from 2007 to 2010.
In his lawsuit, Manson said Wood pressured his ex-girlfriends into making false allegations. One of the women who came forward after Wood was Smithline.
Smithline filed a lawsuit against Manson where she accused him of sexual assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, human trafficking, and unlawful imprisonment.
In the suit, Smithline described abuse by Manson but in her declaration, she recanted the claims.
She accused Wood of having her make "accusations of rape and assault against Mr. Warner that were not true.”
“In November 2010, I had a brief, consensual sexual relationship with Brian Warner, also known as Marilyn Manson, during a trip I took to Los Angeles from Thailand, where I was living. Ten years later, I succumbed to pressure from Evan Rachel Wood and her associates to make accusations of rape and assault against Mr. Warner that were not true,” she said.
Smithline said she was contacted in 2020 to participate in a group meeting of women who, they said, “had had relationships or experiences with” Manson.
“Ultimately, I participated in at least one such group call and a meeting that was filmed in October 2020 (which I only later learned was for Phoenix Rising). From this time in 2020 through June 2021, I had many communications with Ms. Wood,” she said.
Smithline said, “During my conversations with Ms. Wood, she described acts allegedly committed by [Manson] against Ms. Wood and other supposed victims and asked me whether the same things happened to me. I remember she asked me whether I had been, among other things, whipped, chained, tied up, branded/cut, assaulted while sleeping, beaten, or raped.”
“While at first, I knew Mr. Warner did not do these things to me, I eventually began to question whether he actually did,” she said. However, Smithline said she was told numerous times by Wood that she could be misrepresenting and repressing the memories of what happened.
Smithline said she eventually believed Manson had abused her but now understands that never happened.
In her declaration, Wood said Smithline’s claims will be proven false. She said Smithline was the one who reached out to her a full year before Smithline claims they started communicating.
“[Wood] never pressured or manipulated Smithline. It was Smithline who reached out to Wood about the abuse that she had suffered more than a year before Smithline now claims to have been manipulated into believing she was abused,” the motion reads.
Wood said she had every reason to believe Smithline was indeed a victim. The actress said Smithline faced harassment and pressure from Manson’s lawyers after she filed her lawsuit.
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Wood included text messages sent by Manson’s attorney to Smithline.
Further, she asked, “this Court to believe that Smithline was somehow “pressured” into making false accusations when other women shared their experiences with her and allegedly talked about repressed memories (even though Smithline was the one who reached out to Wood about [Manson’s] abuse). But the real pressure Smithline faced was not to make allegations against [Manson]—it was to retract them. Smithline’s declaration is therefore wholly unreliable.”
She added, “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. It was Ms. Smithline who first contacted me in March 2019.”
The judge has yet to rule.
Manson's attorney, Howard King, tells RadarOnline.com, "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."
“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," he added.
