Trent Reznor has issued a statement distancing himself from his former friend and collaborator Marilyn Manson just days after Manson was accused by at least five women of abuse and assault.
Reznor has a history with Manson, signing him to his Nothing Records label and producing Manson’s first first two albums. The relationship between the two would not stay friendly however as in a 2009 interview, Reznor would call Manson “a malicious guy” who will “cross any line of decency.”
Reznor issued the following statement: “I have been vocal over the years about my dislike of Manson as a person and cut ties with him nearly 25 years ago. As I said at the time, the passage from Manson’s memoir is a complete fabrication. I was infuriated and offended back when it came out and remain so today.”
Trent is referring to an excerpt from Manson’s 1998 autobiography “The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell” where Manson recounted assaulting a woman with Reznor the night before Trent told Marilyn that he was going to sign him.
Trent would go on to produce Manson’s 1994 debut album, “Portrait Of An American Family”, as well as the follow-up, 1996’s “Antichrist Superstar”.
Manson claimed in 2017 that he and Reznor had reconciled. “He’s the one who actually sent me an e-mail,” he told Zane Lowe. “We had sort of mended ways after a long time through [Manson’s collaborator and producer] Tyler Bates, strangely enough. He said in the e-mail something along the lines of, ‘It really pisses me off that music’s not dangerous anymore, and it reminds me of how great you were and I was, and the time, the era.'”
On Monday (February 1), actress and Manson’s ex Evan Rachel Wood claimed that Manson “groomed” and “horrifically” abused her for years. After she shared her accusations, at least four other women posted their own allegations against the singer.