Wes Borland on Marilyn Manson: "Every single thing that people have said about him is true"

Wes Borland with Marilyn Manson in 2006
Wes Borland with Marilyn Manson at a gallery opening in 2006 (Image credit: John Shearer / Getty Images)

Limp Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland, who was part of Marilyn Manson's band between August 2008 and May 2009, has spoken about the allegations of abuse directed at the singer.

Earlier this week, actress Evan Rachel Wood publicly accused Manson of abusing her during their relationship in the late 2000s, alleging that the singer “groomed” her as a teenager before he “horrifically abused’ and “brainwashed” her.

Speaking about Manson on the Twitch channel Space Zebra Live, Borland says, "He’s not a great guy. And every single thing that people have said about him is fucking true. So relax about the allegations towards the women. Like when people say these women are coming after him right now… fuck off, they are speaking the truth.

“I’m sorry to everyone on this podcast right now who doesn’t like this. But that guy, he’s amazingly talented, but he’s fucked up and he needs to be put in check and he needs to get sober and he needs to come to terms with his demons. 

"He is a bad fucking guy, and I was there when he was with Evan Rachel Wood. I was at his house. It’s not fucking cool, and that’s all I’m gonna say about it. So if anyone is coming after these girls and going like, ‘You blah blah blah blah blah, this and that,’ fuck you! That’s all I’m gonna say.

“Sorry to take this to a dark place, but that guy is canceled. Goodbye, don’t let the door hit you on the way out."

Wood’s post prompted several other women to share similar allegations against Manson, who was subsequently dropped by his record label, Loma Vista Recordings. 

Manson's accusers also received support from his former fiancé, Rose MacGowan, who posted on Instagram, saying, "I stand with Evan Rachel Wood and other brave women who have come forward. It takes years to recover from abuse and I send them strength on their journey to recovery. Let the truth be revealed. Let the healing begin."

In a subsequent development, California State Senator Susan Rubio called for Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson and FBI director Christopher Wray to investigate the allegations made against Manson.

Manson has taken to Instagram to refute the allegations, saying, "Obviously my art and life have long been magnets for controversy, but these recent claims about me are horrible distortions of reality. 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."

When Metal Hammer asked Marilyn Manson to respond to the allegations of abuse during an interview in late 2020, he hung up on our journalist. Manson’s representatives turned down a request for the singer to do another interview to clarify his story. “We have advised our client not to comment further on your article,” said Manson’s spokesman.

Fraser Lewry

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 38 years in music industry, online for 25. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.