Marilyn Manson is back. His return highlights how little the music industry cares about protecting women
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"I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”
Those were the words of Evan Rachel Wood when she named Marilyn Manson as the man who had allegedly abused her during their relationship in the late 2000s. Wood's explosive statement, posted on Instagram in February 2021, preceded an avalanche of allegations levelled against Manson from former partners, lovers and associates, amongst them Game Of Thrones actress Esme Bianco and Manson's former assistant, Ashley Walters (Bianco and Manson have since settled; Walters' lawsuit is set to be heard in court in June 2025). The allegations ranged from the concerning to the downright shocking, including numerous accounts of rape, violence and intimidating behaviour.
There's one particular part of Wood's statement that stands out this week: "the many industries that have enabled him." Today, Manson - real name Brian Warner - has released his first single in four years, As Sick As The Secrets Within. The track comes courtesy of veteran metal label Nuclear Blast, who announced that they had signed Manson back in May.
Tonight, the singer will return to the stage as he sets out on a North American tour as main support to US metal arena-fillers Five Finger Death Punch. It comes in the wake of numerous legal battles relating to those allegations, some of which are very much still ongoing (just last month, Bianca Allaine Kyne revealed herself as the Jane Doe behind one lawsuit). The tour will put him back in major venues in front of thousands across the coming months, officially cementing his comeback.
It all speaks to something unsettling: too much of the music industry remains complicit in failing to protect women. In a climate where violence against women is being declared a 'national emergency' in some countries, seeing artists, promoters and labels scramble to rehabilitate Manson sends a loud and shameless message.
"He's back on stage, back in the saddle!" said Five Finger Death Punch's Zoltan Bathory in an interview with SiriusXM's Jesea Lee in April when discussing the band's decision to bring Manson on tour. "He's also sober and clean, so we're always gonna support that."
Lovely sentiment, but it misses the point: Marilyn Manson's absence from the music industry hasn't simply been a self-imposed exile so Warner can battle his own demons and get back to his best. He's been accused of serious offences by a significant number of women in allegations that span decades. Money that Manson earns over this next chapter of his career could literally go straight into fighting some of his accusers in court. The implications of where that positions his potential enablers are dire.
Was it inevitable that Manson would return to music? Probably: despite what much of the Internet would have you believe, so few artists are genuinely, irreversibly 'cancelled', even when their list of alleged misdeeds are as stark as his. But to see it all roll out so casually, so easily and in the kind of timespan that isn't even out of step with your average veteran rock star's album cycle (Manson's last LP was released in 2020) is depressing all the same.
You'd hope someone involved in these decisions would pause for thought about the message it sends to platform Manson so readily again, when he could yet be found guilty of some of those alleged offences. If he is, it will reflect brutally on those involved in his imminent return.
Metal Hammer twice reached out to a representative of Five Finger Death Punch's management company, 10th Street Entertainment, to request comment on the band's decision to tour with Manson in the midst of the numerous allegations and ongoing lawsuits related to them. We received no response. Upon request for comment from Nuclear Blast, we were simply informed that the label had signed Manson and had no other comment to offer. Marilyn Manson has denied all allegations against him.
