Judge Dismisses Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against Marilyn Manson By Former Assistant

A Los Angeles judge has dismissed one of several abuse lawsuits filed against Marilyn Manson.

The rocker's former assistant Ashley Walters sued Manson—real name Brian Warner—last year over alleged sexual harassment, abuse, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and wrongful termination from August 2010 to October 2011.

On May 25, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael L. Stern dismissed Walter's case, saying in documents that the "plaintiff has plead too few facts to keep this case in court," according to The Insider. Per the outlet, Stern also noted in his dismissal that Walters had filed "too late," citing statute of limitations. The case was dismissed with prejudice, meaning Walters cannot sue Manson over the same allegations in the future.

"We are deeply disappointed in the court's decision today," Walters' attorneys at Valli Kane & Vagnini LLP and Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai LLP said in a statement to E! News. "If allowed to stand, this decision would drastically limit the ability of victims of abuse to obtain justice through the legal system. We clearly pleaded the facts of this case in the complaint detailing the trauma and abuse Ashley endured, which prevented her from coming forward sooner."

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The statement continued, "While the court based its decision on the timeliness of Ashley's claims and not the merits, we disagree with the court's interpretation of the law as it applies to equitable estoppel and the delayed filing of abuse claims. We remain confident that a full review of the facts in this case will result in a successful appeal, which we plan on filing."

Walters' lawsuit was initially dismissed in January, but the judge allowed her re-file after Walters' team offered supporting arguments for the delayed timeline.

In court, Walters' attorney Tanya Sukhija-Cohen told the judge that her client initially repressed her memories of the alleged abuses by Manson due to post-traumatic stress disorder, but then hired a lawyer and reported what happened to law enforcement when she recovered her memory in 2020, per The Insider.

After the most recent lawsuit was tossed out, Walters expressed her disappointment over the judge's ruling.

"Nobody gets to choose exactly how they process abuse or threats," she told E! News in a statement. "I am disheartened in the court's decision today not just for my case, but for the message it sends to other survivors out there trying to balance how they process abuse with arbitrary court deadlines. We will not let this hurdle stop us from shining a light on what happened to me and others."

In May 2021, when Walters filed her lawsuit against Manson, she claimed in a statement to NBC News that the musician used "his position of power, celebrity and connections to exploit and victimize [her] during her employment."

"Brian groomed me until I trusted him," Walters alleged. "I think when you've endured repeated abuse and harassment, especially from someone you trusted, it can take longer to process and understand what truly happened."

She continued, "It has taken me years to fully grasp the impact this environment had on me and the recent exposure of his behavior toward other women to identify these moments for what they were."

In the lawsuit, obtained by E! News, Walters alleged that Manson "engaged in threatening behavior," saying he regularly flew into "drug-induced fits of rage." She also claimed that Manson treated her "like his property" and repeatedly "offered [her] up to his influential industry friends and associates," giving his friends permission to grope, kiss and "have her."

The shock artist fired Walters in 2011 after accusing her of "trying to sabotage his career," according to the lawsuit. Walters alleged in the docs that Manson continued to "threaten her, accused her of stealing artwork from his home, and hacked into her Facebook account" after she was terminated from her job.

Walters said she decided to come forward with her allegations after being contacted by a group of individuals who also claim to have been victimized by Manson. The suit read, "It was during these meetings that [Walters] realized the extent of her experiences and that what she suffered during her employment was not only traumatic, but unlawful."

The "Sweet Dreams" singer's ex-girlfriends Evan Rachel Wood, Ashley Morgan Smithline, Esme Blanco, as well another anonymous woman have all filed their own civil lawsuits against Manson alleging various forms of abuse.

Manson's legal team has has denied all the allegations. In a motion to dismiss Blanco lawsuit's, Manson's lawyers called the allegations "untrue, meritless" and alleging that several of the accusers "spent months plotting, workshopping, and fine-tuning their stories to turn what were consensual friendships and relationships with Warner from more than a decade ago, into twisted tales that bear no resemblance to reality."

E! News reached out to Manson for comment but did not heard back.

For free, confidential help, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or visit rainn.org.