Actress Esmé Bianco and Marilyn Manson have reached an out-of-court settlement in the 2021 sexual assault lawsuit they filed against him and his company, Marilyn Manson Records, Inc. The Game of Thrones actress claimed the singer, whose real name is Brian Warner, had raped and sexually abused her; She also claimed he violated California’s human trafficking laws. The terms of the agreement are unknown.
“MS. Bianco has agreed to settle her claims against Brian Warner and Marilyn Manson Records, Inc. in order to move on with her life and career,” her attorney, Jay Ellwanger, told Rolling Stone.
“MS. Bianco has agreed to settle their claims against Brian Warner and Marilyn Manson Records, Inc.,” Warner’s attorney Howard King told Rolling Stone.
Bianco was one of more than a dozen women who made sexual abuse allegations against Warner after actress Evan Rachel Wood took to Instagram to claim Warner molested her in February 2021. Bianco – who co-created the Phoenix Act with Wood, which expands rights for survivors of domestic violence – was the first woman to file a lawsuit against him. “Mr. Warner used drugs, violence and threats of violence on multiple occasions to coerce Ms. Bianco into sexual activity,” the filing reads. Warner raped Ms. Bianco on or about May 2011.”
The complaint also alleged that Warner sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious and unable to consent. It also describes other ways he allegedly abused her: “These acts include spanking, biting, cutting and flogging Ms. Bianco’s buttocks, breasts and genitals for the sexual gratification of Mr. Warner – all without the plaintiff’s consent.”
The actress had been living in London when she met the singer, and Warner, she claimed, tricked her into moving to Los Angeles to star in a music video that never came out and to star in a movie that never did came about. “By interfering in Ms. Bianco’s visa process, Mr. Warner was able to control Ms. Bianco by threatening to withdraw support if he disliked her,” the lawsuit states. She also claimed that he once locked her in a bedroom to prevent her from escaping. She claimed he also made her work for free, made him food, cleaned his apartment and sang on an album — all of which violated state human trafficking laws. The lawsuit originally named Warner’s former manager Tony Ciulla as a defendant, but his name was later removed.
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Warner, through his attorney, has denied abuse allegations over the years, including those in Bianco’s lawsuit. “These allegations are demonstrably false,” Warner’s attorney, King, said in 2021. “To be clear, this lawsuit was only filed after my client refused to be put down by Ms. Bianco and her attorney and her outrageous financial demands.” giving in based on behavior that just never happened. We will vigorously challenge these allegations in court and are confident that we will prevail.”
Bianco detailed her allegations against Warner in Rolling Stone’s article examining the allegations against Warner. “Victims of his were totally ashamed that they still didn’t realize what was happening to them until it was way too late,” she said. “He told the whole world and nobody tried to stop him.”
Several other women, including Warner’s former personal assistant Ashley Walters and model Ashley Morgan Smithline, filed similar lawsuits against Warner. Each woman reported similar patterns of abuse, including grooming, sexual, and physical abuse. Walters’ lawsuit was dismissed due to the statute of limitations; Smithline was fired for missing a deadline. A similar lawsuit, filed by an anonymous woman identified as Jane Doe, is pending.
Meanwhile, Warner has filed a lawsuit against Wood and her friend Illma Gore, alleging, among other things, defamation, emotional distress and “impersonation over the internet.” The files came just before Phoenix Rising, a documentary about Wood and the abuse she allegedly suffered at Warner’s hands, premiered on HBO. In the document, she described how she felt Warner had manipulated her, claiming he “essentially raped” her on the set of one of his music videos.
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Shortly after Wood posted her allegations on Instagram, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that it was investigating Warner on criminal sexual assault charges. Police turned over their findings to the Los Angeles Attorney’s Office, who have not yet commented on whether or not they will file charges against Warner.
During an appearance on The View last spring, Wood asked a question about Warner’s lawsuit against her. “I am very confident that I have the truth on my side and that the truth will come out,” she said. “This is definitely before the documentary. … I do not do that [film] to clear my name I do this to protect people. I’m doing this to sound the alarm that there’s a dangerous person out there, and I don’t want anyone getting too close. So people can think whatever they want about me. I have to let the court case take its course and I am rock solid.”