"Some people tried to get me to say that Marilyn Manson raped me, but it wasn't true." - Paz de la Huerta In a recent interview with the Italian publication Mow Mag (April 27, 2024), actress Paz de la Huerta was asked what she thought about the well-known Johnny Depp and Kevin Spacey cases, and her response was as follows (translated from the original Italian): "As for Johnny, I think he's really innocent. Some people tried to get me to say that Marilyn Manson raped me, but it wasn't true. I've been a real victim of Weinstein and other people who are going to pay, but I tell you that I know women who have lied. I didn't follow Kevin Spacey's trial, but I think it's a very different case than Depp's. However, in general, rape is a horrible thing, it ruins lives. I know something about it." Though it is a very brief and understandably overlooked mention, her statement about Marilyn Manson is very significant as the first public st
27 years ago, in an interview with Rolling Stone (March 6, 1997), Trent Reznor gave a good summary of what Marilyn Manson brought back to the music scene in the 1990's, which not only made him a controversial and misunderstood figure, but unique and successful as well.
When I was growing up, rock & roll helped give me my sense of identity, but I had to search for it. I remember I loved the Clash, but I was an outcast because you were supposed to like Journey. Before that, I loved Kiss. The thing these bands gave me was invaluable - that whole spirit of rebellion. Rock & roll should be about rebellion. It should piss your parents off, and it should offer some element of taboo. It should be dangerous, you know? But I'm not sure it really is dangerous anymore. Now, thanks to MTV and radio, rock & roll gets pumped into your house every second of every day. Being a rock & roll star has become as legitimate a career option as being an astronaut or a policeman or a fireman. That's why I applaud - even helped create - bands like Marilyn Manson. The shock-rock value. I think it's necessary. Death to Hootie and the Blowfish, you know. It's safe. It's legitimate.
Look at Marilyn Manson: They have no qualms about taking that whole thing on. The scene needs that, you know? It doesn't need another Pearl Jam-rip-off band. It doesn't need the politically correct R.E.M.s telling us, "We don't eat meat." Fuck you to all that. We need someone who wants to say, "You know what? I jack off 10 times a night, and I fuck groupies." It's not considered safe to say that now, but rock shouldn't be safe. I'm not saying I adhere wholeheartedly to all that in my own lifestyle, but I think that's the aesthetic we need right now. There needs to be some element of anarchy or something that dares to be different.