Evan Rachel Wood says she never pressured Marilyn Manson accuser Ashley Morgan Smithline to make allegations against the musician after the woman recanted earlier this month.
Responding to an earlier Smithline filing, Wood said in a statement filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter that she had no contact with Smithline before an October 21, 2020 “survivor reunion” filmed as part of the HBO documentary Phoenix rising.
She added, “I hadn’t met her, communicated with her, and had no idea who she was” before Smithline commented on one of Wood’s March 2019 posts in which the actress discussed the abuse she allegedly suffered at the hands of a man she would later reveal to be Manson (legally known as Brian Warner).
This statement, along with several exhibits of social media interactions between Smithline and the Westworld the actress included in the court filing, led Wood to deny that she had any influence on the Smithline allegations and their subsequent withdrawal.
“I never pressured or manipulated Ashley Morgan Smithline into making charges against plaintiff Brian Warner, and I certainly never pressured or manipulated her into making charges that weren’t true,” Wood said. in the statement. “It was Ms Smithline who first contacted me in March 2019.”
The duel filings are part of a lawsuit by Manson against Wood and Illma Gore, and come a month after a separate lawsuit against Smithline’s Manson was dismissed. In her own filing in Los Angeles Superior Court, Smithline said she was “manipulated” by Wood and others to accuse Manson of sexual and physical abuse.
“I succumbed to pressure from Evan Rachel Wood and his associates to bring charges of rape and assault against (Manson) that were not true,” she said in the February 19 statement. also obtained by THR.
In her filing, Smithline told the court that she had a “brief, consensual sexual relationship with Brian Warner”, known as Marilyn Manson, in November 2010. Smithline also recanted her previous claims against the metal rocker in which she alleged that Warner committed sexual assault, sexual violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, human trafficking and unlawful imprisonment, among other allegations.
In her filing and response, Wood, while denying lobbying Smithline, includes screenshots of alleged private Instagram messages between her and Smithline. This includes a trade on May 5, 2021 following a People magazine interview where Wood accused Manson of sexual and physical abuse.
” I can not breathe. I have no reason to make this up! Smithline appeared to tell Wood as part of the private Instagram message in Wood’s Los Angeles court filing. “It hurts to see how thoughtless people can be,” Smithline reportedly added at the time as Wood tried to reassure her.