Ashley Walters’ lawsuit against Marilyn Manson has now been given a date for a civil jury trial. At a Case Management Conference held on August 12th 2026 in Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Steve Cochran scheduled the trial for November 15, 2027, at 9:00 a.m. in Department 306 at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. The court also scheduled a Final Status Conference for November 10, 2027. How We Got Here The case has been through several rounds of dismissal and revival since Walters first sued Manson in 2021. Most recently, Judge Cochran allowed the lawsuit to proceed under California’s newly enacted Assembly Bill 250, and in June rejected the defense’s attempt to have Walters’ amended complaint dismissed. At that hearing, the judge said it was too early to make a final determination and that the case should move forward while the parties gathered evidence. Manson’s attorney Howard King described the ruling as an expected procedural step and said the defense would have the opportunity to purs...
One of the noteworthy contributions of Marilyn Manson, especially in the first twenty years of his career, is helping to bring underground taboo exploration through transgressive controversial art into the mainstream. He did this at a time when there was a resurgence in transgressive taboo exploration, beginning around the late 1990's, but no one brought it to mainstream audiences like Marilyn Manson, which was part of the initial shock of his persona. One could say it was the foundation upon which his career was built and it was the means by which he would continually reinvent himself. The list is too long to explore this in detail, but we see it beginning with his very name, taking the first name of a woman and the last name of killer and bringing together opposites. We also see it in his first major hit with his cover of the 80's dance hit 'Sweet Dreams' by the Eurythmics, in which he explores its dark lyrics without changing a word and gives it a sleazy, creepy BDSM...