
Marilyn Manson‘s lawyer Howard E. King denied Esmé Bianco‘s allegations against the rocker as “provably false” in a statement to Rolling Stone.
Bianco, an actor on Game of Thrones, sued Manson, born Brian Warner, on Friday, accusing him of sexual assault and sexual battery. The suit also names Warner’s longtime manager, Tony Ciulla, and accuses him and Warner of violating human trafficking laws and forcing Bianco into “unpaid labor” when she was invited from the U.K. to Warner’s house in Los Angeles to star in a music video, only to learn that no video was being filmed.
“To be clear, this suit was only filed after my client refused to be shaken down by Ms. Bianco and her lawyer and give in to their outrageous financial demands based on conduct that simply never occurred,” King’s statement reads. “We will vigorously contest these allegations in court and are confident that we will prevail.”
Bianco previously made her allegations against Warner in February, telling ABC News that he had physically, sexually and psychologically abused her during their three-year relationship.
“I was coerced, I was defrauded, I was transported from the U.K. to the U.S., I was harbored, and then I was coerced into involuntarily servitude, which included sexual abuse and physical abuse,” she said.
Bianco’s allegations came after Warner’s ex-fiancée, Evan Rachel Wood, publicly stated that he had “horrifically abused [her] for years.” Several other women followed with similar accusations.
Following Wood’s statement, Warner denied the allegations as “horrible distortions of reality.”
For anyone affected by abuse and needing support, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or if you’re unable to speak safely, you can log onto thehotline.org or text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474.
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