Marilyn Manson voiced concerns about the recent wave of sexual assault allegations — otherwise known as the #MeToo movement — in a recent interview with the U.K.'s Channel 4 News, saying it has a potential "snowball effect" that could "really ruin a lot of people lives that don't need to be ruined."
The topic came up in response to a question about actress Rose McGowan, one of the women featured in the New York Times' bombshell exposé on Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein (which kickstarted the phenomenon last fall), and Manson's ex-fiancé. When asked to comment on her emergent role as one of #MeToo's most prominent voices, Manson noted that, while he wasn't surprised by the allegations, he "didn't really know much about it" at the time of their relationship. From there, he gave his thoughts on the movement writ large.
"I just think that I don't want it to turn the whole world's attention from the artistic element of Hollywood, movies and films, to be ruined by this. When someone starts complaining about something that happened that seems a little bit not as serious as really sexual assault, I think that's insulting to people that have been sexually assaulted," he said. "And it pisses me off that when someone says, 'Someone gave me an inappropriate gift.' That's not the same as being harmed."
But what happens if someone is harmed? Manson advised accusers to "say it to the police and not to the press," then referenced his own experiences. "The things that happened to me growing up as a kid is nothing that I'm gonna talk about or complain about — I mean, I'm guilty as charged when it comes to writing a book and talking about my childhood, but I'm not trying to make it into a crazy thing where I can't turn on my phone every day without someone being accused of something," he said.
"Now maybe it's all men are bad, or all men can't do anything inappropriate. It makes you feel you can't even say — or if I meet her." Manson motioned to a woman off-camera. "And if I look at her the wrong way, I'm gonna be accused of something wrong," he continued.
"I think the world needs to balance itself out with what's a proper way of dealing with this type of situation, and I don't disagree with how my ex-fiancée is handling it. I just disagree with the entire snowball effect that's happened with it, that it could really ruin a lot of people's lives that don't need to be ruined," he concluded.
You can watch Manson's 36-minute Channel 4 interview below (via Blabbermouth). The McGowan and #MeToo discussion begins at the 31-minute mark. The comments come two months after Manson split with longtime bassist Jeordie White (a.k.a. Twiggy Ramirez) following accusations by White's ex-girlfriend, Jack Off Jill's Jessicka Addams, that he abused her in the Nineties.
