A US District Court judge has denied a request by lawyers representing Marilyn Manson to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the singer by his former girlfriend, Game Of Thrones actress Esmé Bianco. The suit, filed by Bianco in April, alleges that Manson physically, sexually, psychologically, and emotionally abused the English actress on multiple occasions, and raped her “in or around May 2011.”
Lawyers acting for Manson, real name Brian Warner, had sought to dismiss Bianco’s lawsuit on statute-of-limitations grounds, but the judge ruled that “a reasonable jury could find that the effects of Warner’s alleged unconscionable acts, including the perceived threat to Plaintiff’s safety, immigration status, and career, persisted years after her last contact with Warner.” The singer has been ordered to file a formal answer to each of the claims made in the lawsuit within 14 days.
“My hope is that this ruling empowers other survivors to pursue justice for themselves while signaling to abusers that they cannot bully victims into silence,” Bianco said in a statement following the ruling.
Manson is currently facing a total of four lawsuits: another ex-girlfriend, American model/actress Ashley Morgan Smithline, is accusing the singer of sexual assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, human trafficking, and unlawful imprisonment, while Manson’s former assistant Ashley Walters claims that Manson subjected her to “personal and professional sexual exploitation, manipulation and psychological abuse.” Another woman who has chosen to remain anonymous and is referred to in court documents simply as Jane Doe, says she was raped by the singer who later made death threats against her.
Speaking on the suit filed by Bianco, Manson’s lawyer Howard E. King said the singer would “vigorously contest these allegations in court.”
“To be clear, this suit was only filed after my client refused to be shaken down by Ms Bianco and her lawyer and give in to their outrageous financial demands based on conduct that simply never occurred,” said King. “We will vigorously contest these allegations in court and are confident that we will prevail.”
