"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 sta
On March 11th 2019, Evan Rachel Wood and Esme Bianco launched the #IAmNotOK movement on social media, reminiscent of the #MeToo phenomenon from more than a year prior, to bring wide awareness to the upcoming decision on the Phoenix Act in California. The Phoenix Act was passed unanimously in the state of California a month later in April 2019 and it was passed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on January 1, 2020. The hashtag was advertised as something to share on social media for people to be more vocal about the domestic violence they suffered. It's name stems from Evan's post in November 2016 on Twitter, when she first shared her rape stories in a letter to Rolling Stone, and included the hashtag #NotOk. Over the next few days in mid-March 2019, other women would share their story, including some celebrities recruited by Evan and Esme, using the hashtag #IAmNotOK. It was on March 12th 2019 that Ashley Walters, former personal assistant of Marilyn Manson from August 2010 to October 2011, shared her story with the #IAmNotOK hashtag for the first time on her now deleted Smashley Walters Twitter account.
When Walters was deemed no longer fit to be employed by Manson, they still considered each other to be on friendly terms, despite what appears to be a mutual hidden but tempered animosity that would surface from time to time. Apparently Manson was a difficult person to work for at times, especially since he is known to work throughout the night and keeps himself constantly busy. Walters also had a reputation of taking advantage of the perks of her job, being the personal assistant of a rock star in Hollywood where she was trying to establish a career as a photographer and thought working for Manson would open the doors for connections and success. A drug and alcohol fueled environment, which they both partook in, can also often help make even the most friendly relationships toxic. Things really began to change, however, when Esme Bianco came on the scene in the spring of 2011, and she became closer to Ashley Walters than she did to Manson. On July 1st 2011, Ashley decided it would be fine for her and Esme to take Manson's only car without his permission, but because she was too intoxicated to drive, she ended up totaling his only car, which landed her a DUI and a dismissal from her employment. Manson however forgave Ashley, and gave her back her job in July, but it only lasted a few months.
After being employed by Manson, Walters continued to take advantage of the perks of being Manson's assistant, by deepening the connections she had formed at the time and being more and more friendly with friends, former girlfriends and bandmates of Manson, as well as people in the music industry she came to know, and built her career and further networking on these relationships. She remained especially close friends with Esme Bianco, and over the years they would both encounter Manson when they saw him in concerts and through mutual friends, such as Jeordie White's wedding to Laney Chantal in July 2014. The next year, in the summer of 2015, Ashley Walters found herself employed for The Smashing Pumpkins through her good friend Linda Strawberry. Part of her employment included The End Times Tour co-headlined by Marilyn Manson and The Smashing Pumpkins. According to Ashley, during this tour Manson did damage to her career by telling people about her DUI and totaling his car. This appears to be the moment in time that sealed the fate for Manson to be seen in a more negative light by Walters, and apparently by many of the mutual connections they share who were closer to Walters and sympathized with her. But this didn't stop them from continuing to attend Manson concerts and speaking positively about him in social media. This all began to change when Evan Rachel Wood gave her testimony about an anonymous abuser before congress on February 27th 2018. This was when Esme Bianco says she realized she was talking about Manson, and contacted her. Eventually, between Evan and Esme and Illma Gore, the concept for the Phoenix Act would be born, and Esme recruited her friend Ashley Walters to join them in working to pass the Phoenix Act bill.
After being employed by Manson, Walters continued to take advantage of the perks of being Manson's assistant, by deepening the connections she had formed at the time and being more and more friendly with friends, former girlfriends and bandmates of Manson, as well as people in the music industry she came to know, and built her career and further networking on these relationships. She remained especially close friends with Esme Bianco, and over the years they would both encounter Manson when they saw him in concerts and through mutual friends, such as Jeordie White's wedding to Laney Chantal in July 2014. The next year, in the summer of 2015, Ashley Walters found herself employed for The Smashing Pumpkins through her good friend Linda Strawberry. Part of her employment included The End Times Tour co-headlined by Marilyn Manson and The Smashing Pumpkins. According to Ashley, during this tour Manson did damage to her career by telling people about her DUI and totaling his car. This appears to be the moment in time that sealed the fate for Manson to be seen in a more negative light by Walters, and apparently by many of the mutual connections they share who were closer to Walters and sympathized with her. But this didn't stop them from continuing to attend Manson concerts and speaking positively about him in social media. This all began to change when Evan Rachel Wood gave her testimony about an anonymous abuser before congress on February 27th 2018. This was when Esme Bianco says she realized she was talking about Manson, and contacted her. Eventually, between Evan and Esme and Illma Gore, the concept for the Phoenix Act would be born, and Esme recruited her friend Ashley Walters to join them in working to pass the Phoenix Act bill.
The #IAmNotOK movement had as a goal to get the Phoenix Act passed, and it succeeded. When the bill passed, the movement fizzled away. Ashley Walters shared what she could publicly. She tagged her good friends and collaborators Evan and Esme. Her story came out by retweeting some random guy named Corey Belford who listed forms of abuse that did not involve physical abuse. Walters said that she experienced everything on the list, but could not say anything, because it sounds like she felt she was legally bound by an NDA. This is when the story of Ashley Walters begins to fall apart even before she said anything.
On March 12th 2019, Ashley Walters revealed the following in her tweet:
1. She was part of the #IAmNotOK movement with Evan and Esme.
2. She felt legally prevented from saying anything about her abuser due to an NDA.
3. This abuser verbally abused her, invaded her boundaries, isolated her from friends/family, coerced her sexually, and controlled her finances.
4. There was no physical abuse.
Essentially what Walters did was use someone else's list to talk about what happened to her, despite claiming that legally she could not say anything. However, a quick call to a lawyer would have revealed that an NDA does not cover abuse, but only that which was mutually agreed upon by the parties who signed the non-disclosure agreement. I doubt she agreed that she would not talk about these things, so there must have been another reason for her to use this excuse. Besides, this would be the last time she ever refers to an NDA or being legally prevented from speaking up.
What we will find over the next few years, especially after Walters filed her lawsuit in May 2021, is that she will use this list posted by Corey Belford as a template upon which she will form her accusations against Manson, and any talk about an NDA that prevented her from speaking will be replaced by talk of memory suppression and recovery of memories in October 2020 during the so-called Survivor's Meeting. In other words, she will later claim that in 2019, she had no realization of the abuse she suffered, even though here we clearly see that she did have much of it mind but claimed she could not speak about it.
We must also keep in mind, that not only was Ashley Walters very much involved with the passing of the Phoenix Act bill, but she was in attendance in April 2019 when Evan and Esme testified before the California senate. But Ashley Walters, as will be revealed, will be useful to Evan, Illma and Esme for something else during this time that only she could provide and would prove to be invaluable for them, but damning for her.
This is where the story of Ashley Walters v. Marilyn Manson begins. And it just gets crazier and crazier.
On March 12th 2019, Ashley Walters revealed the following in her tweet:
1. She was part of the #IAmNotOK movement with Evan and Esme.
2. She felt legally prevented from saying anything about her abuser due to an NDA.
3. This abuser verbally abused her, invaded her boundaries, isolated her from friends/family, coerced her sexually, and controlled her finances.
4. There was no physical abuse.
Essentially what Walters did was use someone else's list to talk about what happened to her, despite claiming that legally she could not say anything. However, a quick call to a lawyer would have revealed that an NDA does not cover abuse, but only that which was mutually agreed upon by the parties who signed the non-disclosure agreement. I doubt she agreed that she would not talk about these things, so there must have been another reason for her to use this excuse. Besides, this would be the last time she ever refers to an NDA or being legally prevented from speaking up.
What we will find over the next few years, especially after Walters filed her lawsuit in May 2021, is that she will use this list posted by Corey Belford as a template upon which she will form her accusations against Manson, and any talk about an NDA that prevented her from speaking will be replaced by talk of memory suppression and recovery of memories in October 2020 during the so-called Survivor's Meeting. In other words, she will later claim that in 2019, she had no realization of the abuse she suffered, even though here we clearly see that she did have much of it mind but claimed she could not speak about it.
We must also keep in mind, that not only was Ashley Walters very much involved with the passing of the Phoenix Act bill, but she was in attendance in April 2019 when Evan and Esme testified before the California senate. But Ashley Walters, as will be revealed, will be useful to Evan, Illma and Esme for something else during this time that only she could provide and would prove to be invaluable for them, but damning for her.
This is where the story of Ashley Walters v. Marilyn Manson begins. And it just gets crazier and crazier.