Esmé Bianco, Marilyn Manson.Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; Jo Hale/Redferns via Getty
Esmé Biancois suing her alleged abuserMarilyn Manson.
On Friday, theGame of Thronesactress filed a lawsuit against the 52-year-old rocker, born Brian Warner, alleging sexual abuse, assault and battery, along with human trafficking.
Bianco, 38, is the first of Manson’s alleged victims — includingfellow actress Evan Rachel Wood— to file a civil suit against the controversial rocker.
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Tony Ciulla — Manson’s former manager, who is named in the lawsuit — and a lawyer for Manson did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The lawsuit — which refers to Manson throwing anger “tantrums” — echoes many of the abuse allegations Bianco made in aninterview withThe Cut, where she said Manson “almost destroyed me.”
RELATED VIDEO: Evan Rachel Wood Alleges Ex Marilyn Manson ‘Horrifically Abused’ and ‘Manipulated’ Her
According to the lawsuit, Bianco believed that if she spoke up, she’d be “barred from future professional opportunities” or Manson would “harm her.” The projects Bianco worked on for Manson have never been published.
In May 2009, the two started a consensual sexual relationship, although she claims he “publicly groped her against her consent” and enforced a dress code for Bianco and that he tried to bring an underage person to a London hotel where they were staying.
In April 2011, Bianco claims that Manson secured her a visa to work on his filmPhantasmagoriaand that she moved in with him at the time. While there, she went through “constant abuse” and was held against her will as he “threatened to interfere with her visa process.”
“On one occasion, Mr. Warner chased [Bianco] around the apartment with an ax, smashing holes in the walls. On another occasion, Mr. Warner cut Ms. Bianco with a Nazi knife during sex, without her consent, and photographed the cuts on her body,” the lawsuit reads. “He then posted the photos online without her consent.”
Marilyn Manson.Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
She claims Manson raped her in May 2011 and “committed sexual acts” without her consent multiple times throughout 2011. Bianco’s allegations of human trafficking rely on the fact that Bianco was flown out for “promises of work” and instead was faced with “violent sexual acts to which she did not consent.”
They “were complicit in Mr. Warner’s abuse of Ms. Bianco,” the lawsuit reads. “It was only after these abuse allegations were made public in February 2021 that Mr. Ciulla and Ciulla Management withdrew from their representation of Mr. Warner—after more than 25 years.”
The new lawsuit comes more than two months after theLos Angeles Sheriff’s Department stated that it had started an investigationinto domestic violence claims against Manson.
After multiple women named Manson as their abuser, the musicianaddressed the allegationsin an Instagram statement. He’s remained quiet since.
“Obviously, my life and my art have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality,” he wrote. “My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how — and why — others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth.”
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
