Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. has defended the organization’s Grammy nomination for Marilyn Manson, despite the recent accusations of abuse toward multiple women.
The shock rocker is up for “Album Of The Year” for the 2022 Grammy Awards due to his participation as both a featured artist and songwriter on Kanye West’s latest album, “Donda”.
Speaking with The Wrap, Mason Jr. said The Recording Academy “won’t restrict the people who can submit their material for consideration. We won’t look back at people’s history, we won’t look at their criminal record, we won’t look at anything other than the legality within our rules of, is this recording for this work eligible based on date and other criteria. If it is, they can submit for consideration.”
He continued: “What we will control is our stages, our shows, our events, our red carpets. We’ll take a look at anyone who is asking to be a part of that, asking to be in attendance, and we’ll make our decisions at that point. But we’re not going to be in the business of restricting people from submitting their work for our voters to decide on.”
Currently there are at least 15 women, including actress Evan Rachel Wood, who have publicly accused Manson of sexual assault or misconduct. Manson is currently facing three lawsuits from women who claim to have been sexually abused by him in the past, including his ex-girlfriend Ashley Morgan Smithline and “Game Of Thrones” actress Esme Bianco.
Wood named Marilyn Manson as her abuser back in February of this year, saying: “The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known to the world as Marilyn Manson,” Wood wrote. “He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission.”
The couple were in a romantic relationship that began when Wood was 19 and Manson was 38.
The statement continues, “I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”
Manson’s former reps told SPIN via email, “We are not currently on retainer with Marilyn Manson. TCB believes and supports survivors of abuse.”
In 2009, Manson told SPIN that he fantasizes every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer,” he says, referencing Wood, who he was broken up with. Speaking of the breakup, Manson recalled, “every time I called her that day — I called 158 times — I took a razorblade and I cut myself on my face or on my hands. I look back and it was a really stupid thing to do. … and the song “I Want to Kill You Like They Do in The Movies” is about my fantasies. I have fantasies every day about smashing her skull in with a sledgehammer.”
In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone Wood said, “I’ve been raped. By a significant other while we were together. And on a separate occasion, by the owner of a bar,” she in 2016. “I don’t believe we live in a time where people can stay silent any longer. Not given the state our world is in with its blatant bigotry and sexism.
Wood created the Phoenix Act — which was signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom in 2019 and took effect in 2020. “The Phoenix Act introduces legislation to state policymakers. Our organizers work within the state government to create more rights for survivors, not harsher punishments for perpetrators,” says the Act’s statement of purpose. “Under specific circumstances, there should be exceptions to the statute of limitations for domestic violence crimes. — to extend the statute of limitations on domestic violence from three years to five. “
In 2018 Wood testified before Congress, detailing being raped, tortured and mentally abused by a former boyfriend in order to advocate for implementing the Sexual Assault Survivor’s Bill of Rights Act in all 50 states.
“And the worst part: Sick rituals of binding me up by my hands and feet to be mentally and physically tortured until my abuser felt I had proven my love for them. ”Wood continued by explaining how this trauma had affected her psychologically. “While I was tied up and being beaten and told unspeakable things, I truly felt like I could die,” she said. “Not just because my abuser said to me, ‘I could kill you right now,’ but because in that moment I felt like I left my body and I was too afraid to run.”