LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Rocker has agreed to drop a lawsuit against his former fianc茅e, 鈥淲estworld鈥� actor , and to pay her attorneys' fees, lawyers for both sides said Tuesday.
The move comes 18 months after a Los Angeles County judge in which Manson, whose legal name is Brian Warner, claimed Wood had fabricated public allegations that he sexually and physically abused her during their relationship and encouraged other women to fabricate their own allegations.
鈥淎fter four years of fighting a battle where he was able to tell the truth, Brian is pleased to dismiss his still-pending claims and appeal in order to close the door on this chapter of his life," Manson attorney Howard King said in a statement.
Manson had been appealing the judge's decision but his attorneys reached out to Wood's seeking a settlement in the spring. Wood's attorneys said Tuesday that she rejected requests that the terms be kept confidential.
Manson 鈥渇iled a lawsuit against Ms. Wood as a publicity stunt to try to undermine the credibility of his many accusers and revive his faltering career,鈥� Wood鈥檚 lawyer Michael J. Kump said in a statement. 鈥淏ut his attempt to silence and intimidate Ms. Wood failed.鈥�
Manson agreed to pay nearly $327,000 in attorney fees for Wood.
The settlement comes nearly four years into a involving multiple women that remains unresolved. Outgoing LA County District Attorney George Gasc贸n said in October that his office's sex crimes division had just discovered new evidence and that a decision on whether to file charges would be made when the picture was more complete.
The women involved in the criminal case have not been identified, but has said she was among them, and criticized the district attorney for taking so long to investigate. Bianco settled her own lawsuit against Manson last year.
The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused unless they come forward publicly as Wood and Bianco have.
Manson has denied engaging in any non-consensual sexual acts.
In 2017, with the #MeToo movement gaining momentum, Wood said publicly that she had been raped and abused, and gave testimony on the subject to a Congressional committee in 2018, but did not name anyone in either instance.
Then in a 2020 Instagram post, Wood said it was Manson who had 鈥渉orrifically abused me for years.鈥� The two revealed they were a couple in 2007, and were briefly engaged in 2010 before breaking up.
Manson's original lawsuit alleged that Wood and another woman, Ashley Gore, also known as Illma Gore in court papers, defamed him, intentionally caused him emotional distress and derailed his career in music, TV and film. It says they used false pretenses, including a phony letter from the FBI, to convince other women to come forward with sexual abuse allegations and coached them on what to say. The suit said Wood had only glowing things to say about Manson during their relationship.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Teresa A. Beaudet dismissed the part of the suit dealing with the disputed FBI letter, which Wood denied forging. Beaudet also tossed out a section that alleges Wood and Gore used a checklist found on an iPad for other women to use to make abuse claims about Manson.
Other parts of the lawsuit had remained because they were not subject to Wood鈥檚 motion, including allegations that Gore hacked Manson鈥檚 email, phone and social media accounts, created a phony email to manufacture evidence that he was sending illegal pornography, and 鈥渟watted鈥� him, using a prank call to send authorities to his home.
Gore reached her own agreement with Manson to dismiss the lawsuit. A message to her attorneys seeking comment wasn't immediately returned.
Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
