Hanson Bridgett LLP sealed its victory against controversial rock musician Marilyn Manson

Hanson Bridgett LLP sealed its victory for Australian artist Illma Gore against controversial rock musician Marilyn Manson in connection with his defamation and emotional distress suit against Gore and co-defendant Evan Rachel Wood

Hanson Bridgett LLP sealed its victory for Australian artist Illma Gore against controversial rock musician Marilyn Manson in connection with his defamation and emotional distress suit against Gore and co-defendant Evan Rachel Wood.

Manson dropped his appeal of Gore’s May 2023 anti-SLAPP victory and February 2024 attorney fee award, as well as the entirety of the underlying case, and paid Gore $130,000 in legal defense fees.

The firm defended Gore in her challenge to Manson’s 2022 lawsuit, in which he claimed that she and Wood, Manson’s ex-fiancée, orchestrated efforts to defame him and caused him emotional distress after Wood went public with sexual abuse and rape allegations against Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner.

In May 2023, a Los Angeles judge struck down many of Warner’s claims, including his allegation that Wood and Gore inflicted emotional distress on him by recruiting women to speak out against him. Under California’s anti-SLAPP law, which protects people who are wrongly sued for exercising their rights to free speech, Warner was ordered this year to pay both women’s legal fees.

“Marilyn Manson’s meritless claims against our client were a transparent publicity stunt launched ahead of the HBO documentary Phoenix Rising, which chronicled our client’s work with Evan Rachel Wood to pass legislation in California to extend the statute of limitations for domestic violence survivors. We were proud to defend Ms. Gore against Manson’s efforts to undermine and silence her, and to achieve a settlement dismissing all claims against her and securing Manson’s payment of her attorneys’ fees,” said Hanson Bridgett partner Maggie A. Ziemianek, who represented Gore in her anti-SLAPP motion. “It was our pleasure to defend Ms. Gore against this completely frivolous action.”

Gore said: “I feel vindicated and am grateful to put this chapter behind me. No one should be targeted for speaking out on behalf of women who have suffered sexual abuse.”