Ashley Morgan Smithline, who previously accused rock artist Marilyn Manson of psychological, sexual, and physical abuse, has reportedly recanted her these allegations, according to People. Smithline, whose lawsuit against Manson was dismissed a month ago, filed a declaration in Los Angeles Superior Court today (February 23) claiming that she was pressured by actress Evan Rachel Wood to make these allegations.
“I succumbed to pressure from Evan Rachel Wood and her associates to make accusations of rape and assault against [Manson] that were not true,” she reportedly wrote in the declaration.
A rep for Wood has since issued a statement denying these claims, saying, “Evan never pressured or manipulated Ashley. 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.”
In her new declaration, Smithline claims to have had a “brief, consensual sexual relationship” circa 2010, and was contacted a decade later by either Ashley Walters, a former assistant of Manson’s who sued him for sexual assault and battery in 2021, and Wood’s girlfriend Illma Gore to participate in a group of woman with shared experiences with Manson.
“I remember [Wood] asked me whether I had been, among other things, whipped, chained, tied up, branded/cut, assaulted while sleeping, beaten, or raped. She said all of these things happened to Ms. Wood and others, and that when Ms. Wood was with [Manson] every moment was a moment of survival,” read Smithline’s new declaration. “When I said, no this did not happen to me and this was not my experience, I recall being told by Ms. Wood that just because I could not remember did not necessarily mean that it did not happen.”