Wood’s statement reads in its entirety: “The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson. He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. 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.”
According to Variety, Wood first came forward as being a rape and domestic violence survivor in 2016. Since then, the actress has prioritized activism relating to issues of domestic abuse, including creating the Phoenix Act in 2019 that “extends the statute of limitations on domestic violence to five years from three.” The bill took effect in January 2020, prior to which Wood testified before the California Senate and revealed her abuser tied her up and beat her “with a torture device called a violet wand,” adding, “To him it was a way for me to prove my loyalty. The pain was excruciating. It felt like I left my body and a part of me died that day.” In February 2018, Wood was one of three women who testified in front of Congress about her experience with sexual assault in an attempt to expand the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights Act beyond federal level and into all 50 states. “I thought I was the only human who experienced this, and I carried so much guilt and confusion about my response to the abuse,” Wood said at the time, before going into detail about the torture she endured. “I accepted my powerlessness, and I felt I deserved it somehow.” In a follow-up email to CNN, Wood explained why she decided to testify in front of Congress and to share her story so openly: “I want Congress to understand that sexual assault and rape have lasting effects on your health and well being. It’s the trauma that continues after the act itself that is overwhelming. Survivors shouldn’t also be forced to jump through hurdles to hold their perpetrators accountable.” Read Wood’s statement naming Manson as her alleged abuser in the social media post below.
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