A few months ago, Esmé Bianco — who played Ros on Game of Thrones — detailed allegations of sexual abuse against Brian Warner, aka Marilyn Manson, with whom she lived for two-and-a-half months. She was one of several women to come out and tell stories like this after Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood testify about her own experiences with Manson before Congross in 2018, where she called what happened between them “domestic abuse.”
Now, Rolling Stone reports that Bianco has filed suit against Manson in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, alleging sexual abuse and sexual trafficking.
Warning: some of the descriptions from the lawsuit are pretty intense, so proceed with caution.
Esmé Bianco’s claims against Marilyn Manson and his management
So far as the sexual assault claims go, Bianco’s lawsuit details how “Mr. Warner used drugs, force, and threats of force to coerce sexual acts from Ms. Bianco on multiple occasions.” It also states that “Mr. Warner raped Ms. Bianco in or around May 2011” and “committed sexual acts” with Bianco when she was unconscious or unable to consent. The lawsuit also lists the ways he sexually , and lists the ways she claims he sexually battered her: “These acts include spanking, biting, cutting, and whipping Ms. Bianco’s buttocks, breasts, and genitals for Mr. Warner’s sexual gratification — all without the consent of Plaintiff.”
Bianco also alleges that Manson controlled her by giving her drugs and depriving her of food and sleep “in order to weaken her physically and mentally and decrease her ability to refuse him.”
On one occasion, Mr. Warner chased Plaintiff around the apartment with an ax, smashing holes in the walls…On another occasion, Mr. Warner cut Ms. Bianco with a Nazi knife during sex, without her consent, and photographed the cuts on her body. He then posted the photos online without her consent.
As for the sexual trafficking, Bianco alleges that Warner “employed fraud” in enticing her to come to the United States to appear in a music video for his song “I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the Movies” as well as a horror film Phantasmagoria. The music video was never released and the horror film never made. “He promised work opportunities that never appeared while inserting himself in her visa process,” reads the complaint. “By inserting himself in Ms. Bianco’s visa process, Mr. Warner was able to control Ms. Bianco by threatening to withdraw support if she displeased him.”
In a statement to Rolling Stone, Bianco talked about her role in the Phoenix Act, a California law that expands rights for domestic-abuse survivors that’s also championed by Evan Rachel Wood. “As millions of survivors like myself are painfully aware, our legal system is far from perfect,” Bianco said. “This is why I co-created the Phoenix Act, a law which gives precious additional healing time to thousands of domestic violence survivors. But while I fight for a more just legal system, I am also pursuing my right to demand my abuser be held to account, using every avenue available to me.”
For far too long, my abuser has been left unchecked, enabled by money, fame, and an industry that turned a blind eye. Despite the numerous brave women who have spoken out against Marilyn Manson, countless survivors remain silenced, and some of their voices will never be heard. My hope is that by raising mine, I will help to stop Brian Warner from shattering any more lives and empower other victims to seek their own small measure of justice.
Bianco is also suing Ciulla Management, which represented Manson for years before dropping him earlier this year after the allegations of abuse came to light. She claims that Ciulla knew about Warner’s abuse but didn’t do anything because he was a valuable client.
Warner, Ciulla and their attorneys have denied all of Bianco’s claims.
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