On January 30, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released a massive, and likely final, batch of files related to the investigations into Jeffrey Epstein, totaling over 3 million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images. This release was mandated by the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump in November 2025, requiring the DOJ to produce its files related to the late sex offender and Ghislaine Maxwell. Together with the Epstein files, which strictly are files obtained from Jeffrey Epstein himself, and in which Marilyn Manson is never mentioned as having any sort of association with Epstein, the DOJ included a number of separate documents that consist of "anonymous tips." It is a document in one of these anonymous tips that the name Marilyn Manson can be found, in document EFTA00154698. In the context of document EFTA00154698, an "anonymous tip" refers to information submitted by a member of the p...
According to a report today by The Independent, two artists accused of rape and assault were eligible for nominations at the 2025 Brit Awards ceremony.
Marilyn Manson, 55, and rapper Yung Filly, 29, appeared on the longlists for International Artist of the Year and Hip-Hop, Grime or Rap Act, respectively, as a panel of over 1,300 industry experts were asked to choose who they wanted to nominate. Voting for next year’s awards closed on Thursday evening (12 December).
Manson appeared on the longlist for International Artist of the Year prize alongside pop stars Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue, Post Malone and Billie Eilish.
UK rapper and YouTuber Yung Filly was arrested on rape and assault charges in Australia in October. He appeared on the longlist for Hip-Hop, Grime or Rap Act alongside stars such as Stormzy, Headie One and Dave.
Spice Girls member Mel B, a vocal campaigner against violence against women and five-time Brit Award-winner, said: “It is an indictment of the music industry that [men accused of abuse] continue to be celebrated – how long does it actually take for the world to see this should not happen?”
It appears The Independent contacted Mel B for this year's statement, since last year it also reported that Mel B was vocal over Tom Meighan, the former frontman for rock band Kasabian, for being among the eligible acts at the 2024 Brit Awards. The singer, 42, was convicted of domestic assault after pleading guilty to attacking his now-wife, Vikki Ager, in 2020.
Mel B (Melanie Brown) chronicled the history of her abuse at the hands of her ex-husband Stephen Belafonte in her 2018 memoir Brutally Honest. However, her ex-husband not only has denied the allegations made by Mel B, but is currently suing her for defamation while he has primary custody of their 12 year old daughter.
Brown and Belafonte married in 2007, and she filed for divorce in March 2017; the split was settled later that year and finalized in 2018. She has since publicly and repeatedly alleged that Belafonte abused her, which she only came to a realization of while writing her memoir. The split of the couple was due to wild claims by Brown concerning her husband and their nanny.
In 2019 Mel B settled for $2.35 million a defamation suit issued by her former nanny Lorraine Gilles in 2017. She had called Lorraine a "prostitute." She claimed in court documents that Stephen impregnated Lorraine, who worked for them for seven years, and used Mel's money to pay for an abortion. Mel also claimed Stephen coerced the nanny to join them in sexual encounters. In a 128-page libel suit, Lorraine denied Mel's claims, including that she was ever pregnant by Stephen and said that she'd had a much stronger sexual relationship with Mel than with the singer's husband.
As a result of her allegations against her ex-husband, Mel B, who appears to be a chronic defamer and slanderer, is currently a charity ambassador for Women’s Aid, a U.K.-based organization for women escaping domestic violence, and was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her advocacy in 2022.
And The Independent likes to contact Mel B to stir controversy over potential nominees for the Brit Awards who have allegations or convictions of domestic abuse, while she leeches off her doubtful allegations.
“The BRIT Awards condemns any form of sexual violence or harassment,” a spokesperson told The Independent. “We also believe in the due process of the law. Artists become eligible based on their musical impact in the previous 12 months as measured by success in the Official Charts. Members of the 1,300-strong BRITs Voting Academy (drawn from across the music industry and media) are then invited to make informed decisions to exercise their judgement to create the shortlist of nominees, and the eventual category winners. The Voting Academy is reviewed annually, as are the eligibility rules.”
The 2025 Brit Awards will take place on Saturday 1 March at the O2 Arena in London and be broadcast live on ITV1 and ITVX.
Marilyn Manson, 55, and rapper Yung Filly, 29, appeared on the longlists for International Artist of the Year and Hip-Hop, Grime or Rap Act, respectively, as a panel of over 1,300 industry experts were asked to choose who they wanted to nominate. Voting for next year’s awards closed on Thursday evening (12 December).
Manson appeared on the longlist for International Artist of the Year prize alongside pop stars Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Kylie Minogue, Post Malone and Billie Eilish.
UK rapper and YouTuber Yung Filly was arrested on rape and assault charges in Australia in October. He appeared on the longlist for Hip-Hop, Grime or Rap Act alongside stars such as Stormzy, Headie One and Dave.
Spice Girls member Mel B, a vocal campaigner against violence against women and five-time Brit Award-winner, said: “It is an indictment of the music industry that [men accused of abuse] continue to be celebrated – how long does it actually take for the world to see this should not happen?”
It appears The Independent contacted Mel B for this year's statement, since last year it also reported that Mel B was vocal over Tom Meighan, the former frontman for rock band Kasabian, for being among the eligible acts at the 2024 Brit Awards. The singer, 42, was convicted of domestic assault after pleading guilty to attacking his now-wife, Vikki Ager, in 2020.
Mel B (Melanie Brown) chronicled the history of her abuse at the hands of her ex-husband Stephen Belafonte in her 2018 memoir Brutally Honest. However, her ex-husband not only has denied the allegations made by Mel B, but is currently suing her for defamation while he has primary custody of their 12 year old daughter.
Brown and Belafonte married in 2007, and she filed for divorce in March 2017; the split was settled later that year and finalized in 2018. She has since publicly and repeatedly alleged that Belafonte abused her, which she only came to a realization of while writing her memoir. The split of the couple was due to wild claims by Brown concerning her husband and their nanny.
In 2019 Mel B settled for $2.35 million a defamation suit issued by her former nanny Lorraine Gilles in 2017. She had called Lorraine a "prostitute." She claimed in court documents that Stephen impregnated Lorraine, who worked for them for seven years, and used Mel's money to pay for an abortion. Mel also claimed Stephen coerced the nanny to join them in sexual encounters. In a 128-page libel suit, Lorraine denied Mel's claims, including that she was ever pregnant by Stephen and said that she'd had a much stronger sexual relationship with Mel than with the singer's husband.
As a result of her allegations against her ex-husband, Mel B, who appears to be a chronic defamer and slanderer, is currently a charity ambassador for Women’s Aid, a U.K.-based organization for women escaping domestic violence, and was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her advocacy in 2022.
And The Independent likes to contact Mel B to stir controversy over potential nominees for the Brit Awards who have allegations or convictions of domestic abuse, while she leeches off her doubtful allegations.
“The BRIT Awards condemns any form of sexual violence or harassment,” a spokesperson told The Independent. “We also believe in the due process of the law. Artists become eligible based on their musical impact in the previous 12 months as measured by success in the Official Charts. Members of the 1,300-strong BRITs Voting Academy (drawn from across the music industry and media) are then invited to make informed decisions to exercise their judgement to create the shortlist of nominees, and the eventual category winners. The Voting Academy is reviewed annually, as are the eligibility rules.”
The 2025 Brit Awards will take place on Saturday 1 March at the O2 Arena in London and be broadcast live on ITV1 and ITVX.