Esmé Bianco is adding her voice to the abuse allegations against Marilyn Manson. On the Cut, the Game of Thrones star opened up about the abuse she experienced at the hands of Manson, the performer born Brian Warner, whom she called a “serial predator.†Bianco said after being a fan of Manson’s for years and first meeting him in 2005, he paid for her to fly to Los Angeles in 2009 to work on a music video for his song “I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the Movies.†Manson told her beforehand the video would be about him “kidnapping†her, but according to her, the shoot turned into physical abuse. Bianco described being tied to a prayer kneeler, whipped, and agitated with a Violet Wand sex toy on her wounds, and said Manson’s alleged abuse left scars. Actress Evan Rachel Wood, who named Manson as her abuser last week, also mentioned the sex toy when she testified about her abuse in front of the California Senate in 2019; Bianco also testified, although both women did not name Manson at the time.
Bianco told the Cut that Manson never showed her the footage, and a video for the song never came out. She kept in touch with Manson during an affair for the next two years, and eventually left her husband to move to West Hollywood with Manson, under the promise that he would help the English actor get an American visa. According to Bianco, Manson controlled her clothes, sleep, and when she could leave the apartment. “I basically felt like a prisoner,†she said. Ashley Walters, Manson’s former assistant who also accused him of abuse alongside Wood and multiple other woman, confirmed Bianco’s details to the Cut. “Whatever he is doing, you should be doing,†she said. “If he’s spinning out and staying up, you need to stay up.†Manson would have sex with other women, without Bianco knowing, despite his agreement to an exclusive relationship with her, according to Walters, who said she was asked to keep the details from Bianco. When the Game of Thrones pilot premiered, Manson enjoyed showing a sex scene of Bianco’s to friends and calling her a “whore,†a former associate told the Cut.
Bianco left Manson’s house after about two months, after he threatened her with an ax one day. (Manson had previously cut Bianco with a knife, she said.) She now says it is a “massive relief†to speak out about Manson’s abuse. According to her attorney, Jay Ellwanger, the FBI recently interviewed Bianco for an investigation. Ellwanger told the Cut that Manson’s actions, specifically paying for Bianco’s first trip to L.A. and subsequently abusing her under the guise of a music video, could legally qualify as trafficking; the FBI did not confirm details of its investigation. “He deserves to be behind bars for the rest of his life,†Bianco said of Manson. Manson has previously denied recent allegations of abuse, calling them “horrible distortions of reality†in an Instagram post.