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The New Symbolism of Marilyn Manson's Stage Show Since 2024

   Since Marilyn Manson returned to the stage in the summer of 2024 with the One Assassination Under God tour, pulsating illuminated upside-down double crosses have been a consistent part of the stage design. The double cross itself is nothing new in Manson's work. It has been part of his imagery for many years and became particularly prominent again after the Heaven Upside Down era. What is new since 2024 is the way the symbol has been incorporated into the lighting of the performance. Rather than functioning simply as a static emblem, the crosses now pulsate and change as part of the stage itself, becoming one of the most noticeable elements of every concert. Manson's return to the stage has also involved bringing back many features and images from earlier periods of his career, which has naturally given the performances a nostalgic quality for longtime fans. What interests me for this analysis, however, is what has actually been added during this new period that has not be...

The Real Inspiration Behind Chløë Black's Song About Marilyn Manson

An Important Timeline On January 29, 2021, singer and songwriter Chløë Black officially released a new song called "Title Track". That day she shared the following message on social media: "This is the most personal and emotionally raw song I’ve shared. I can’t tell you how many times I was told that I shouldn’t write about my most painful experiences and sexual assault is ‘too dark’ a topic to discuss. I also was told innumerable times in the past not to sing bi-lingually. Today I’m so grateful to be strong enough not to listen and to have a wonderful team who are guided by open hearts instead of closed minds. Les autres je les emmerdes!" On February 2, 2021, Chloe Black, inspired by other accusers the day before, accused Marilyn Manson of being abusive towards her when they were in a relationship in 2011. This was just four days after the release of her single "Title Track". On February 5, 2021, her sister also shared a story on social media about Manson...

Ashley Walters v. Marilyn Manson (Part Two - An Analysis of her February 1, 2021 Statement)

              ...continued from part one.   It appears that Ashley Walters remained relatively quiet regarding her alleged abuse and anything that has to do with Marilyn Manson from March 2019 till February 1, 2021. Later we will find out that she was very much active during this time in regards to those things, but her first public statement about the abuse she allegedly suffered by her former employer Marilyn Manson came on the day Evan Rachel Wood first named her abuser. On February 1, 2021, Evan named Marilyn Manson as her abuser for the first time, and this was followed by others who made accusations of abuse and assault, many of whom coordinated before this time to issue their statements together on the same day. Among these women was Ashley Walters, a long-time friend of nearly all of Manson's accusers, who posted the statement above on her Instagram account, along with what appears to be three text messages from Marilyn Manson to Ashley W...

Ashley Walters v. Marilyn Manson (Part One - It All Begins With a Movement and a List)

    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 201...

A Star Is Born: How a Deceptive Underage Girl Led Marilyn Manson to the Creation of his "First Real Song"

Watching the news this morning, I heard the announcement that televangelist Pat Robertson has died at the age of 93, while New York City is experiencing the worst air quality ever in its history and currently around the world due to the massive Canadian wildfires. Putting the two together, it reminded me of an interesting story from Marilyn Manson's autobiography The Long Hard Road Out of Hell . Manson's autobiography is often cited out of context by his accusers and critics to prove how horrible of a monster he is (not just was , but is ), yet they very conveniently overlook the stories that contradict their accusations. One of these stories took place in 1990, when Manson was in Manhattan, just as he was beginning to play live shows in South Florida with the Spooky Kids. How he ended up in Manhattan and what came out of that trip are both fascinating, but he describes it as "a disastrous trip to Manhattan during which I wrote my first real song." This is how Manson ...

Marilyn Manson in the News (May 4 - May 28, 2023)

May 9 - Anti-SLAPP Rulings Revealed and Why Marilyn Manson Has a Strong Case for an Appeal Anti-SLAPP laws work by putting more burden than usual on defamed plaintiffs like Manson, forcing them to clearly show at the outset that their case is legitimate. In California, the reason strict anti-SLAPP laws exist is because they have so many cases to go through, and it helps to alleviate the pressure of the courts by making cases less time consuming by eliminating certain aspects of a claim before they go to discovery. The major drawback of this is that a plaintiff must enter the case with all their evidence in hand when it comes to defamation claims even before discovery can be conducted. Thus, it makes it almost impossible for a defamation claim to pass into the discovery portion of the case unless the unquestionable evidence already clearly exists. In some cases, like Manson's, the intentional infliction of emotional distress claim can also be part of the anti-SLAPP.   Summary of the...