“Marilyn Manson: Unveiled” – Director Karen McGann Discusses Allegations of Abuse and ‘Cult’ Harassment Against the Musician

Documentary Overview

Director of a new documentary Marilyn Manson: Without Mask, Karen McGann, spoke to NME about the upcoming three-part Channel 4 series, which chronicles the musician’s rise to fame and the abuse allegations leveled against him.

The docuseries was announced last week, with a press release explaining that it will “reveal the shocking story of one of rock music’s most controversial figures,” including “the chilling allegations of abuse that consumed his career.”

Allegations and Interviews

In 2021, his former partner, actor Evan Rachel Wood, accused Manson (real name Brian Warner) of grooming, abuse, and manipulation. She also claimed in 2022 that Warner “basically raped” her “on camera” while they were filming the video for his 2007 song “Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand).”

Since Wood’s initial statement, a number of other women have come forward with allegations against the musician. These included Game of Thrones actor Esmé Bianco, who filed a lawsuit alleging sexual assault, physical abuse, and human trafficking.

Warner categorically denied the allegations, which he called “terrible distortions of reality.” The singer countersued Wood for defamation and emotional distress. Last November, he dropped the suit and agreed to pay her $327,000 in attorney fees. Warner and Bianco reached an out-of-court settlement in January 2023. Manson has since released the album One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1 and will soon begin a world tour in support of it.

In addition to Wood, the new docuseries features alleged victim Bianca Alleyne Kyne (who claims Warner abused her, claims he denies) and former Marilyn Manson band member Stephen Beer.

Read our full interview below where McGann talks to NME about putting the doc together, the power of Manson’s image in his heyday, the changing culture of abuse allegations, and how the music industry should respond.

Challenges in Documentary Making

NME: Hi Karen. What challenges did you face while making Marilyn Manson: Unmasked?

Karen McGann: “It’s one thing to talk to a journalist, but it’s another thing entirely for a survivor or a person making very strong accusations to decide to film themselves telling that story. It was very difficult for Rolling Stone to write (their 2021 investigation); we found that people were even more reluctant to testify. We reached out to a lot of people and ended up having a lot of informal conversations. When people did start talking, they had to go a long way to translate those initial informal conversations into on-camera appearances.”

Besides the obvious, was there anything in particular that put people off?

“When the original story came out it caused a huge backlash and people started trolling, saying they were Manson fans going after these girls quite a bit. (The accusers) were burned by the experience, so the idea of doing it for a documentary seemed really difficult. I am very grateful to those who decided to travel with us, because they face many dangers.”

The series contains archival footage of Manson saying things in public that, in retrospect, are completely unacceptable…

“Manson is a fascinating subject because he is the architect of his own mythology. So, there’s the view that maybe it’s just a design, and then there are others who tell you, ‘It’s hiding in plain sight.’ The guiding principle for us when we were making the documentary was, ‘Did he say that?’ Yes, he did it. We’ll show it to you and then you, the audience, can form your own opinion. I really wanted to say, ‘I’m going to present you with different sides of this issue and you can decide what you think we as a society should do or not do about it.’”

More recent allegations against Jay-Z, Russell Brand, and Diddy date back to the same time period. Were the 2000s particularly toxic?

“I think there was something deliberately provocative about the culture at the time that a lot of us were invested in. We thought, ‘This is ironic. It’s about rejecting the establishment or conservative values in some way. Of course, we don’t mean it – we just say it for effect.’ (Now) the question becomes: Are there people who are hiding in plain sight and taking advantage of this to realize their own values and desires?”

It was also the music business’s last hurrah before the Internet wiped out profits. Perhaps the industry as a whole was protecting the profitable ones…

“Absolutely. People are always protected when they make money, and sometimes that’s one of the hypocrisies of the entertainment industry. We saw this with (Harvey) Weinstein. Over the past few years, people have been wondering, ‘Will #MeToo happen in the music industry?’ Since we made the Manson documentary, all the allegations against Diddy have come to light. Maybe (#MeToo in the music industry) will happen.”

One lawsuit included a suit against Manson’s former label Interscope and its now-defunct subsidiary Nothing Records for ‘defending, promoting, and profiting from’ his alleged conduct. Was this the turning point?

“It does raise difficult questions for record companies because I think when you present an artist (to the public), there are larger ideological questions about companies that are profiting from artists who have allegations against them and whose work is provocative in that sense. Should they be held responsible or not? It will be interesting to see if this develops. If (this claim) goes to court, it will be very important.”

What questions should record labels now ask themselves?

“I think the record companies may not be interested in opening the door to all this. ‘I hope everything happens behind closed doors, even if it’s just for self-interest and self-preservation, to make sure their house is in order.’”

Are you surprised that more alarm bells weren’t raised about Manson during his heyday?

“No. Since what was normalized 20 years ago, we have come so far in terms of what is acceptable and what is not. We have a better understanding of what coercion or abuse is; you shift and tilt the lens slightly. #MeToo was a big moment, and I think we’re still grappling with the consequences of it. Without #MeToo and what happened around Weinstein, I don’t think we would be having these conversations in the same way. We begin to rethink behavior that was previously considered normal or standard. The more important question is: what should we do with this awareness?”

After the initial momentum of #MeToo, has the pendulum of public support swung back against those alleging abuse, as Evan Rachel Wood so convincingly suggests in your series?

“I think it’s still very, very difficult to be the person making the allegations who comes forward. They are still viewed with a certain amount of suspicion – especially if they make accusations against a more powerful figure with money or celebrity. There was a moment after #MeToo when it seemed like there was this revelation, but it didn’t materialize in the way people might have hoped. I don’t think it gave people the support and protection they might need.”

The series depicts Manson early in his career, courting very young fans, mostly women. One of the interlocutors compares it to the “family” of Charles Manson’s assistants. Would you call Marilyn Manson a cult leader?

“He had the ability to inspire extraordinary devotion in people. There’s definitely something iconic about the devotion he’s managed to garner from his fans. He had extraordinary charisma. You look on the forums now and see countless people actively supporting him. There’s something messianic about him, and I think he drew heavily on that to build his own image in the ’90s.

“He’s an intelligent man and knew he could represent something for people who felt underrepresented or disenfranchised. From this, he made a very successful career. Many of (his supporters) will be people who supported him in the 90s. And I think new fans will too.”

Are there any questions you think fans should be asking themselves today?

“Simple: try to look and listen without prejudice to what they say.”

In 2022 someone filed a petition pleading with YouTube to “Remove the video of Marilyn Manson’s heart-shaped glasses.” (YouTube responded: “We are closely monitoring the situation and will take appropriate action if we determine that there is a violation of our creator responsibility guidelines.”) Should the video be removed?

“I think that when someone makes a serious allegation regarding any work, it should definitely be a serious argument, yes.”

In November, Manson released a new album, One Assassination Under God – Chapter 1.

“It must be said that over the past few years it appears to have undergone significant changes. He is apparently sober now, which is a change. So I think there’s a lot in his life that he feels like he can put into his music. I was curious about Manson early in the process of making this film. I wasn’t a fan of his music, but I didn’t dislike it. I found him to be a fascinating cultural figure, and that remains true. He has the right as an artist to create his own music.”

He also begins a sold-out European tour next month, including three UK dates. Are you surprised by this?

“No, because of the messianic devotion he was able to harness from the very beginning. During adolescence, people (develop) a sense of self. We’re investing in an artist that we love, and there’s a huge number of people who feel like he’s speaking for them and he’s going to deeply connect with what they’ve been through. His music means something to them, so it doesn’t surprise me that there is an audience that is willing to pay to see him.”

What would you like viewers to take away from Marilyn Manson: Without Mask?

“I would like people to really listen carefully to everything that is in this documentary, what each person has to say. There are people there who support Manson. We were very careful and thoughtful about having those voices there. It had to feel balanced, and I think its strength is in presenting two points of view because there’s a lot of tension there. This is where the really interesting complexity of all the topics and subjects we talk about comes into play.

“I really encourage people to question why they believe what they believe. I think it’s a healthy process for all of us to go through and just try to learn something about who we are and how we relate to people on both sides of this story.”

Marilyn Manson: Without Mask will air on Tuesday 14, Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 January at 10pm on Channel 4. The full series will be available in a box set and available on Channel4.com after the first episode airs.