Bournemouth council leader Millie Earl has called for an upcoming Marilyn Manson show to be cancelled.
American rock musician Marilyn Manson was accused of rape and domestic violence by four women in a lawsuit that spanned over several years. The case concluded in January of this year without charges being filed, due to a lack of sufficient evidence. Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman provided a statement explaining the decision.
He said: “We have determined that allegations of domestic violence fall outside of the statute of limitations, and we cannot prove charges of sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt.
“We recognise and applaud the courage and resilience of the women who came forward to make reports and share their experiences, and we thank them for their cooperation and patience with the investigation.”
Those involved in the lawsuit included Manson’s former personal assistant Ashley Walters, model Ashley Morgan Smithline and Game of Thrones actress Esmé Bianco, with a fourth accuser choosing to remain anonymous. In a statement made to Instagram shortly after the ruling, Bianco expressed her disappointment with the decision: “Once again, our justice system has failed survivors. Not the individual prosecutors and detectives who worked for years on this case, but the system that made them do so with one hand tied behind their collective backs.”
Actress Evan Rachel Wood accused Manson of domestic abuse in 2021, and in 2022, Manson sued her for defamation. However, in 2024, he dropped the lawsuit and they reached a settlement.
Since then, Manson has undertaken a world tour, performing around the US in spring, and will be taking on his ‘One Assassination Under God’ tour across Europe and North America in autumn. One UK date includes a Halloween gig at Bournemouth’s International Centre. Although Manson strongly denies all allegations against him, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council leader Millie Earl believes the show should be cancelled due to the message it sends about the treatment of women.
The Liberal Democrat leader told the BBC: “I don’t feel Marilyn Manson reflects the values we have in BCP and we’ve been doing a lot of work around things like the White Ribbon accreditation scheme which helps men and boys change negative, damaging behaviours.
“So I have asked that BH Live reconsider hosting Marilyn Manson later this year.” Earl added that she wants to “reinforce the message that violence against women and girls isn’t something that’s acceptable in our community.”
Although the council owns the Bournemouth International Centre, according to Earl, they have no say over what events take place there due to the lease agreement, hence the need to ask the venue’s promoters, BH Live, to reconsider hosting the singer.
As of today, 22 June, BH Live has not publicly addressed Earl’s concerns, and the show is still scheduled to proceed.
