One of the things I always love about seeing Marilyn Manson live is to hear the songs he chooses to introduce his performance and then see what kind of Intro will precede his stage appearance. In the past, the setup for his stage show would take such a long time, that along with other songs entire albums were played, the most memorable being when the entire album of Pink Floyd's The Wall (80 minutes) was played and the crowd sang along to it, or when Iggy Pop's The Idiot (40 minutes) played from start to finish. When I attended a live performance in New Jersey on August 5th 2024, the wait time between sets wasn't that long, but I do recall hearing some songs play before Manson performed, though I was also a bit distracted and not paying as much attention as I should have. However, I can tell you the one song that was played right before the Intro, and I believe it has been played at every show this leg of the tour, though I'm not sure. I looked around for a video that
Today, the 12th of August 2024, Esme Bianco reemerged like it was 2019, absent Evan Rachel Wood.
As we know, Esme Bianco was the co-creator of the original Phoenix Act (SB-273) with Evan Rachel Wood and headed by Senator Susan Rubio, when they sought to extend the statute of limitations on domestic violence, and succeeded in raising it up to five years in January 2020. Both Evan and Esme had testified on behalf of the Phoenix Act before the California Assembly in July 2019, both describing horrible abuse at the hands of Marilyn Manson, and their inability to hold him accountable due to the statute of limitations. However, when they testified at that time, neither of them named Marilyn Manson as their abuser. They didn't name him until February 1, 2021, when they with others decided to all name him together on social media.
Originally Evan and Esme wanted to extend the statute of limitations to ten years, but settled on five years. More recently Senator Susan Rubio has been leading the charge to extend the statute of limitations from five years to fifteen years, in what they call the Phoenix Act 2.0 (SB-690), which was introduced in February 2023. Today Senator Rubio held a press conference specifically to call attention to the Phoenix Act 2.0. Though Evan has for some reason largely dropped out of having anything to do with the Phoenix Act, Senator Rubio gave tribute to her efforts at this conference in leading the charge to get the first Phoenix Act passed. Interestingly, Esme Bianco, who has always taken great pride in her efforts as the co-creator of the first Phoenix Act, stood before the podium today and now advocated on behalf of the Phoenix Act 2.0.
As we know, Esme Bianco was the co-creator of the original Phoenix Act (SB-273) with Evan Rachel Wood and headed by Senator Susan Rubio, when they sought to extend the statute of limitations on domestic violence, and succeeded in raising it up to five years in January 2020. Both Evan and Esme had testified on behalf of the Phoenix Act before the California Assembly in July 2019, both describing horrible abuse at the hands of Marilyn Manson, and their inability to hold him accountable due to the statute of limitations. However, when they testified at that time, neither of them named Marilyn Manson as their abuser. They didn't name him until February 1, 2021, when they with others decided to all name him together on social media.
Originally Evan and Esme wanted to extend the statute of limitations to ten years, but settled on five years. More recently Senator Susan Rubio has been leading the charge to extend the statute of limitations from five years to fifteen years, in what they call the Phoenix Act 2.0 (SB-690), which was introduced in February 2023. Today Senator Rubio held a press conference specifically to call attention to the Phoenix Act 2.0. Though Evan has for some reason largely dropped out of having anything to do with the Phoenix Act, Senator Rubio gave tribute to her efforts at this conference in leading the charge to get the first Phoenix Act passed. Interestingly, Esme Bianco, who has always taken great pride in her efforts as the co-creator of the first Phoenix Act, stood before the podium today and now advocated on behalf of the Phoenix Act 2.0.
What was most interesting about Esme's brief speech, is that it sounded like it was 2019 all over again. She briefly talked about her previous efforts with Evan in creating the Phoenix Act and the need for further legislation to extend the statute of limitations, as well shared briefly her own personal story of abuse at the hands of Marilyn Manson, however not only did she allude to but not name Evan Rachel Wood in her speech, but she alluded to and did not name Marilyn Manson either. It was like she was deliberately trying to hide their identities, even though we know who they are and she has spoken of them publicly in the past. Could it be that Esme did not name Evan because Evan did not give Esme proper credit as the co-creator of the Phoenix Act in her documentary Phoenix Rising, where she gives that credit solely to Illma Gore instead? Perhaps she did not name Manson because she doesn't want to get into legal trouble after settling her lawsuit against him? Maybe it is something else, but one thing is for sure - it sounded a lot like her speeches in 2019 where she was deliberately not naming names.
Another interesting observation to be made is that Esme may be having her 2020 Phoenix tattoo removed, as it appears very faint, though it is difficult to say without a clearer picture. Both Evan and Esme have "SB-273" tattood on themselves in honor of their creating the Phoenix Act. Esme in addition had a Phoenix tattood on her arm.
Another interesting observation to be made is that Esme may be having her 2020 Phoenix tattoo removed, as it appears very faint, though it is difficult to say without a clearer picture. Both Evan and Esme have "SB-273" tattood on themselves in honor of their creating the Phoenix Act. Esme in addition had a Phoenix tattood on her arm.
To be noted also is that Esme's reemergence comes at at a time when her close friend, Dr. Caroline Heldman, is planning a protest outside Marilyn Manson's concert in Anaheim, California on September 6th. No doubt she is doing this mostly on behalf of Esme Bianco. More on this later.
As of right now, the bill would apply to crimes committed on or after January 1, 2024. It's progress can be tracked here.
Esme begins to speak at the 14:30 mark in the video below:
Esme begins to speak at the 14:30 mark in the video below: