After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Evan Rachel Wood’s two-part documentary Phoenix Rising premieres on HBO on March 16. Ahead of the film’s premiere, the actress appeared on Good Morning America to explain why “it was time to stop being silent” about the alleged abuse she endured during her four-year relationship with musician Brian Warner, also known as Marilyn Manson. “So many survivors live in fear of judgment and retribution, and mostly live in shame,” the Westworld star said in an interview. “And I know because I experienced it.”
Wood first publicly named Manson as her abuser in February 2021, and Phoenix Rising describes the difficult steps that led to that decision. The film, directed by Amy Berg, also traces the disturbing history of their relationship, which began in 2006 when she was 18 and Manson was 36. Among Wood’s allegations in Phoenix Rising is that Manson “virtually raped” her set. the 2007 music video for “Heart-Shaped Glasses” after being given absinthe.
Speaking to Good Morning America, Wood says she was “too scared” to tell her story sooner. “It was made very clear to me that there would be retribution,” she explains. “Exposing a person in power who is as high-ranking as himself is a huge task.”
Evan Rachel Wood in Amy Berg’s HBO documentary Phoenix Rising. (Photo: Olivia Fujeirol/Courtesy Institute Sundance)
Manson has since retaliated against Wood through legal channels by filing a defamation lawsuit accusing her of spreading “malicious lies that derailed.” [his] successful musical, television and film career.” Previously, the singer also called Wood’s accusations “terrible distortions of reality” and insisted that “his intimate relationships have always been fully consensual with like-minded partners.”
“As far as I can tell, he hints that maybe it was just kinky sex,” Wood said in an interview with Good Morning America in response to Manson’s claims. “Brian and I didn’t have a BDSM relationship. We didn’t have weird sex. It’s not a sexual preference. We’re not talking about that.”
The story goes on
“I stand by everything you said about the abuse allegations,” Wood continues. “I do not believe that I am legally allowed to comment on any of the [Manson’s] allegations, but I am very sure that the truth is on my side.”
In addition to Good Morning America, Wood also appeared on The View to discuss the documentary and described the toll her relationship with Manson had taken on her.
“He made me forget who I am,” she says. “And it took me years to remember, and it took me years to come to my senses and even understand what happened to me. Because I really thought that I was the only one, and only much later did I find out that not only was I not the only one, but that there was a pattern in his bullying. And that means it’s timed, and that means it won’t stop until it stops. It’s not someone shooting blindly in the dark – it’s planned.”
Rise of the Phoenix premieres March 15 on HBO