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In May 2021, Ashley Morgan Smithline appeared on the cover of People magazine alongside the headline, “I survived a monster.”
The story announced that Smithline, who has worked as a model and actress, was “ready to speak her truth” about the horrific abuse she suffered at the hands of Marilyn Manson. Among other things, she claimed that Manson bound and raped her while she slept, drank her blood, and carved his initials on her thigh.
“I’ve been brainwashed and it makes me gross,” she said alongside a photo showing the scar.
But in a three-page statement filed in court on Thursday, Smithline recanted her allegations.
She said the claims, which she first posted to her Instagram account in February 2021, contained “untrue statements” about Manson, “including that there was violence and non-consensual sexual activity in our brief relationship.”
She also explained that there was “no branding or cutting” during the relationship, “and certainly no ‘Marilyn Manson’ initials engraved on my body.”
Smithline also claimed that she was pressured into making the false allegations by Evan Rachel Wood, Manson’s ex-girlfriend, who publicly accused him of abusing her during their four-year relationship.
She claimed to have been manipulated by Wood and others, including Wood’s girlfriend Illma Gore, into participating in a publicity campaign against Manson. In addition to the people cover shoot, Smithline appeared on The View and filed a federal lawsuit accusing Manson of violent sexual abuse.
The lawsuit was dismissed in January after her attorney, Jay Ellwanger, pulled out of the case over a breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.
Smithline now claims she was convinced she was making the false allegations after hearing the accounts of Wood and Esme Bianco, another of Manson’s accusers.
She said when she first spoke to Wood in 2020, she denied having been abused. But she claims Wood told her she must have “suppressed” her memories. In fact, she claims she was brainwashed.
“At some point I started to believe that what I was repeatedly told Ms. Wood and Ms. Bianco also happened to me,” she said.
Wood’s rep denied Smithline’s claims.
“Evan never pressured or manipulated Ashley,” the rep said. “It was Ashley who first contacted Evan about the abuse she suffered. It is unfortunate that the harassment and threats Ashley received after filing her federal lawsuit appeared to pressure her to change her testimony.”
Smithline also claimed that Ellwanger filed the lawsuit without reviewing it with her and that he was among those who pressured her to make the false allegations. In an email to Variety, Ellwanger denied the claims.
“My response is constrained by ethical obligations regarding client confidentiality, even to a former client,” Ellwanger wrote. “But what I can say is that the specific allegations in the statement regarding my representing Ms Smithline are categorically and demonstrably false.”
Manson is now suing Wood and Gore for defamation, alleging they maliciously derailed his career with false allegations of abuse. Manson also accuses them of recruiting other women to make false allegations against him.
Attorneys for Wood and Gore have filed a motion to dismiss the claims under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, arguing that the lawsuit is an attempt to restrict freedom of expression on a matter of public interest. Her attorneys have also argued that there is no evidence that Wood or Gore pressured anyone to make false allegations.
Howard King, Manson’s attorney, filed Smithline’s statement in defense of the anti-SLAPP motion. King claims the statement provides new evidence that Wood and Gore did indeed push women into fabricating allegations.
The application is scheduled to be heard on April 11th.
People attached an editor’s note to its May 2021 cover story, noting that Smithline has retracted her claims.