LOS ANGELES (CN) — A woman sued rock star Marilyn Manson in federal court Tuesday accusing him of luring her into his home with the prospect of producing a film only to be ensnared in a cycle of sexual and emotional abuse, forced confinement and indentured servitude.
Ashley Lindsay Morgan Smithline, a model and entertainer based in California, claims Manson carved “MM” into her thigh, spewed anti-Semitic language at her, and isolated her in his home where she was forced to work.
Manson, real name Brian Warner, first contacted Smithline in 2010 to be part of a film project in Los Angeles where he lives. Smithline, who was working as a model in Thailand at the time, understood the project to be a remake of the film “True Romance” and would involve director Eli Roth and actor Naveen Andrews, she says in her complaint.
When she arrived in November 2010, Manson asked her to move into his apartment, which was also the film studio. The two began a sexual relationship days later, which Smithline says was consensual --- though it quickly turned abusive: according to the 18-page lawsuit, Smithline woke up one day to find her ankles and wrists tied and Manson sexually assaulting her.
“Ms. Smithline told Mr. Warner to stop and said no multiple times, and Mr. Warner told her to ‘shut the fuck up’ and ‘be quiet,’” Smithline says in her complaint. “Mr. Warner also squeezed Ms. Smithline’s ribs, causing bruising and pain whenever she breathed that lasted for a week, as well as additional injuries to her vagina. Mr. Warner then forcibly penetrated Ms. Smithline without her consent. Ms. Smithline said no several times and told Mr. Warner to get off of her. In response, Mr. Warner put a pillow over Ms. Smithline’s face, preventing her from breathing.”
Later that month, Smithline says, Manson cut into her shoulder, arm and stomach with a knife, causing her to go into shock at least once. He also raped her and attempted to rape her after the first incident, at one point elbowing her in the face when she resisted.
When Smithline flew to Thailand for a modeling job, she was diagnosed with a hairline fracture to her nose, she says in her complaint.
Between 2010 and 2013, Smithline flew back to LA to see Manson and continued to endure abuse, a cycle she claims she was locked into because of Manson’s constant threats to her life.
“Mr. Warner manipulated Ms. Smithline into a state of near total isolation, both physically and emotionally,” Smithline says in the complaint. “Once isolated, Mr. Warner exercised complete control over Ms. Smithline; her continued involvement in the relationship was borne out of this severe mental duress.”
The sexual assault and emotional abuse that came after the false promise of employment on a film project amounts to a violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, Smithline says.
Smithline is one of 15 women — including actresses Evan Rachel Wood and Esmé Bianco — who’ve accused Manson of sexual assault and other physical abuse.
The federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in the Central District of California also accuses Manson of locking Smithline in his home, depriving her of food and sleep, whipping her back, throwing knives at her and forcing her to show her breasts to Manson’s guests.
Whenever Manson felt Smithline had “disrespected” him in some way, he would lock her in a glass box.
“Mr. Warner also kept a soundproof glass enclosure in his bedroom that was known as ‘the bad girls’ room,’” Smithline says in her complaint. “Ms. Smithline was repeatedly locked in that enclosure.”
Smithline, who is Jewish, says she was also made to buy Nazi paraphernalia for Manson, who would call her a “dirty Jew” and “kike” when he was upset.
According to the complaint, Smithline lives with post-traumatic stress disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. She seeks general, special and punitive damages.
A spokesperson for Manson did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on the lawsuit.
This past February, the LA County Sheriff's Department said its Special Victims Bureau is investigating allegations of sexual violence involving Manson, who denies the allegations but has since been dropped by his record label and talent management company.
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