YouTube responds to Evan Rachel Wood calls for removal of Marilyn Manson video
Wood claims that she was "essentially raped on camera" during the shoot
YouTube has said that it’s considering pulling the music video for Marilyn Manson’s ‘Heart-Shaped Glasses (When The Heart Guides The Hand)’ from its platform after the video’s star Evan Rachel Wood alleged that she was “essentially raped on camera” during shooting.
Actress and activist Wood claimed in a new documentary that she was abused by Manson while filming the video. In it, Wood and Manson – formerly a couple – are seen kissing and touching one another while covered in blood.
Wood’s allegations, which Manson is yet to respond to, preceded her sharing on her Instagram Stories a petition launched by domestic violence activist Victoria Ambrose to lobby YouTube to remove the video for Manson’s 2007 single.
Ambrose wrote in the petition that the video “should not still be allowed on YouTube, or circulating anywhere for that matter” because it allegedly depicts Manson penetrating Wood without her consent. At the time of writing, the petition has received more than over 6,800 signatures.
YouTube spokesperson Jack Malon told the Daily Mail that the platform is “monitoring the situation closely and will take appropriate action if we determine there is a breach of our creator responsibility guidelines”.
It’s reported that Malon also brought up a clause in YouTube’s terms of service that says that Manson’s entire channel could be pulled due to alleged sexual assault outside of this particular claim, but that would require Manson to either confess to or be legally charged or convicted with a crime that “harms the YouTube community”.
Last year, Wood accused Manson of abuse, while several other women have come forward with their own allegations against him. Manson previously denied allegations of abuse levelled against him, calling the claims “horrible distortions of reality”.
Among his accusers are ‘Game Of Thrones’ star Esme Bianco, who is suing Manson for alleged sexual assault, physical abuse and human trafficking. Manson’s former assistant, Ashley Walters, is suing the rocker for sexual assault, battery and harassment.
Model Ashley Morgan Smithline is also seeking damages for sexual assault, sexual battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Wood’s HBO documentary ‘Phoenix Rising’, which is out now on HBO Max, explore’s her decision to name Manson as her alleged abuser.
“I was coerced into a commercial sex act under false pretenses,” Wood claims about ‘Heart-Shaped Glasses…’ in the film. “That’s when the first crime was committed against me. I was essentially raped on-camera.”
In ‘Phoenix Rising’, Wood alleges that Warner was “really clear” with how she should describe the video when it came up in interviews at the time.
“I was supposed to tell people we had this great, romantic time and none of that was the truth,” she says at one point, as an article quoting her saying the sex wasn’t real flashes across the screen. “But I was scared to do anything that would upset Brian in any way. The video was just the beginning of the violence that would keep escalating over the course of the relationship.”
The actress recently addressed her Manson’s lawsuit against her for the first time, saying that she’s “not scared” of it. Manson filed a defamation lawsuit against Wood earlier this month.
Per Deadline, the veteran shock rocker – real name Brian Warner – filed the suit in Los Angeles superior court on March 2 against Wood and her associate Ashley ‘Ilma’ Gore. It accuses the pair of “conspiracy” to cast him as “a rapist and abuser – a malicious falsehood that has derailed Warner’s successful music, TV, and film career”.