Content warning: This article discusses details of domestic violence, abuse and sexual assault.
MARILYN MANSON accuser Ashley Morgan Smithline (aka Ashley Lindsay Morgan) has detailed her claims of abuse at the hands of the musician in a new cover story for People Magazine. The interview contains graphic and disturbing allegations against Manson, along with images of physical scars apparently inflicted by the infamous musician.
Smithline is only one of 15 women who’ve accused Manson of numerous levels of abuse, and she is also one of the five women (including actress Evan Rachel Wood) who initially accused him of abuse in a collection of statements released earlier this year.
During the interview, Smithline says Manson abused her in numerous ways including biting, whipping, cutting her with a knife, shoving his fist in her mouth during sex and a forced “blood pact” where Manson drank her blood and made her drink his blood. The shock-rocker also apparently locked Smithline in a glass box over 100 times.
In response to Smithline’s allegations, a spokesperson for MARILYN MANSON has said that they “strongly deny her claims.”
“There are so many falsehoods within her claims that we wouldn’t know where to begin to answer them,” the statement (via People) reads. “This relationship, to the limited extent it was a relationship, didn’t last one week.”
People has reported that Smithline provided them with emails and messages she says were from Manson that span more than two years.
Smithline says the physical abuse against her started when Manson was filming with her. She claims Manson whipped her bare back as she lay face down, naked on his bed. She also details the first time Manson allegedly raped her, claiming he tied her up and penetrated her while she was sleeping. “He kept telling me, ‘You can’t rape someone that you’re in love with,'” she says.
She goes on to show a collection of scars she apparently received from Manson in her right thigh area, saying she “feels disgusting” when she sees the mark, which she says came from Manson cutting his initials into her flesh. She also claims Manson cut her protruding ribs when she weighed less than 80 pounds.
“He cut me on my stomach and then drank my blood. Then, he had me drink his,” Smithline says. “The more I let him hurt me, the more I loved him and the more I was proving myself to him.”
Smithline was eventually able to leave Manson after a number of prior attempts. Though she broke from the musician in 2013, Smithline says she still experiences OCD, night terrors and PTSD from her ordeals. “Being with the other girls,” Smithline says of her sisterhood with fellow Manson accusers, “these feelings of guilt and shame have lessened.”
“I’m not a victim,” she implores. “I’m a fucking survivor. I want people to know who he is, and it’s worth it if not one more woman gets hurt again.”
You can watch the interview below.