Obviously, this will need some content warnings for anyone sensitive to the topic of domestic abuse. A few days ago I posted a video review of Marilyn Manson's (or Brian Warner, for those of you who don't know his real name) most recent album, We Are Chaos. Unfortunately, this was the worst timing ever because on the same day one of his ex girlfriends Evan Rachel Wood and 4 other women have come out to accuse Manson of abuse, describing how Manson groomed Wood when she was 17 among other very disturbing behavior. https://twitter.com/i/events/1356304226838671360?s=21 Wood has spoken before about how she had been abused without naming who it was, but people figured out on their own it was probably Manson based on the timeline Wood gave matching up when she and Manson were together. I say this as a fan of Manson's music who really enjoys learning about all his symbolism thru fansites like the Nachtkabarett, but I'm inclined to believe Wood. I know I've made two videos defending Manson against bogus rumors made up by fundamentalist Christians, but I've never been under the illusion that Manson is a saint. When I read his autobiography The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, it was equally very enticing reading Manson's descriptions of standing up to religious fundamentalist nonsense in school, but also disturbing in parts where Manson would casually describe mistreating his bandmates and once plotting to kill a crazy fan named Nancy by burning her house down (he ultimately chickened out). At the end I felt any women who dated Manson would be putting themselves at risk. I wanted to hope that after writing his autobiography, maybe Manson tried to turn a new leaf and writing about all this messed up stuff was him admitting his wrongs. But I was wrong. Even after the 90s, there continued to be incidents where Manson would fight with his band members during concerts and have run ins with police. And while Manson was together with Wood, he admitted in a 2009 interview he had fantasies of killing her which inspired the song "I Want To Kill You Like They Do In The Movies" on his album The High End of Low (one of his worst songs, which I thought even before I learned its inspiration). Not to mention in a 2014 interview saying he thinks racism is a made up word, and in 2018 actress Charlyne Yi said that Manson made racist comments towards her on the set of the drama series House. There's several you tube videos that document Manson's behavior over the years that mention even more incidents than I'm listing here. I know a lot of musicians have their dark sides (for example Beatle John Lennon admitted to being a wife beater in a 1980 interview) and Manson is not unique in that regard. But that's kind of the problem, people shouldn't put celebrities on a pedestal. I mean, that's how reality star Donald Trump scammed his way into becoming president, and look at what happened in 4 years when people put too much faith in him. And I actually think that's a message in Manson's own music, on albums like Mechanical Animals and Holy Wood about how fake Hollywood is and how people shouldn't treat celebrities like they're saints. But the question is, will Manson's fans understand his own message and hold even Manson himself to scrutiny? Or, to quote Manson's song This Is The New Shit, will Manson fans just respond "Do we get it? NO! Do we want it? YES!" and not think about what they are listening to like the idiot fundamentalist Christians who wrongfully accuse Manson of causing Columbine, killing puppies or getting ribs taken out to suck himself off?

Now of course, this all still needs to go to court for judgement and have evidence be properly evaluated before guilt is decided and justice is served. Maybe Manson will be exonerated a la how Johnny Depp showed it was actually Amber Heard who was abusing him and not the other way around, but I'm doubtful a plot twist like that will happen. Gotta be honest, but Manson brought this on himself. What did he think would happen writing a song called "Perfume" with lyrics like "Not a victim of fashion, More fascist than vogue, 'Cause victim is chic, You're as famous as your pain, Victim is chic, yeah"? He was just raising more suspicions about himself. It's just a shame to see him going from calmly refuting all the idiots who tried to crucify him for the Columbine shootings and taking no shit from Bill O'Reilly, to cowering in fear and hanging up in a 2020 phone interview that tried to ask him what "Perfume" meant and if it was about Wood. I might elaborate my thoughts more in a non-fursuit video I've been considering making about what to do when a celebrity you admire or idolize does bad things. But I just request that commenters please be respectful when discussing the topic. It's been stressful seeing a hero of mine fall like this, and I don't want to also deal with flame wars in my journal.