Ashley Morgan Smithline, one of Marilyn Manson‘s sexual assault accusers, has recanted her allegations against the rocker.
In a new legal filing, Smithline claimed that Manson’s ex Evan Rachel Wood and others “manipulated” her into making false rape allegations.
The U-turn by Smithline comes in a declaration filed by Manson’s lawyer, Howard King, in a defamation suit the musician has filed against Wood and Wood’s friend, Illma Gore.
“I succumbed to pressure from Evan Rachel Wood and her associates to make accusations of rape and assault against [Manson] that were not true,” Smithline says in the declaration obtained by Page Six.
She also claims she did not give her attorney permission to file her lawsuit in the first place.
Smithline sued Warner in 2021, alleging sexual assault, sexual battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, human trafficking, and unlawful imprisonment, among other allegations.
The model, who is Jewish, had accused Manson of forcibly raping her while cutting her with a swastika-emblazoned knife and shoving his fist in her mouth during sex.
“Evan never pressured or manipulated Ashley,” a spokesperson for Wood responded in a statement. “It was Ashley who first contacted Evan about the abuse she had suffered. It’s unfortunate that the harassment and threats Ashley received after filing her federal lawsuit appear to have pressured her to change her testimony.”
(Photo: Craig Noce)
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