There’s another defamation case currently playing out. Following the verdict in the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial, interest in celebrity lawsuits still seems to be at a high. For those keeping tabs, another defamation suit has been filed by Marilyn Manson after his ex Evan Rachel Wood accused the singer of abuse years after speaking out in front of a judiciary committee as a victim of abuse. Online social media users seem to be trending toward following the happenings of this new suit, particularly after a 6,000 page unsealed doc was released in the Depp case which also brought Manson to the forefront. 

We already know there was high interest in the Amber Heard and Johnny Depp trial when it played out. Fans on TikTok became so engrossed in the trial, Depp created a TikTok to thank the fans for their support after it ended. Deep dives of the Manson/Wood case are also being done on TikTok and elsewhere and seeing thousands of views.

Many Twitter and YouTube users also gained followings during the trial, with a report over at Insider citing several accounts that were interested in and blew up during the events of the Heard and Depp case now pivoting to Marilyn Manson.

That outlet also recently spoke with Rachel Gevlin, who teaches at Birmingham-Southern College and who said she would not be surprised to see similar things happen with Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel Wood should that particular case play out in court. Her reasoning? 

Emphasizing this possibility further is the fact that Marilyn Manson and Johnny Depp know one another and the singer's name came up in the other case. Manson never took the stand; however, text messages Johnny Depp had sent him played a role in the recently unsealed documents. In court, Depp was even asked about his relationship with Manson, noting they “done drugs together” a few times. Some of the same audience that was interested in the Depp/Heard trial could be interested in this case.

Similar to Amber Heard getting trolled during and after she fought with her ex in court, a petition already exists to ban Evan Rachel Wood from social media, though it’s worth noting its thousand plus signatures pales in comparison to petitions about Amber Heard. One petition requesting Amber Heard be removed from Aquaman 2 has garnered over 4.6 million signatures. 

In a separate interview over at Indiewire, #MeToo attorney Lee Feldman told that outlet that the Manson situation could play out very differently given the accusations and how the singer is perceived in pop culture.

Marilyn Manson has denied claims made by Evan Rachel Wood and others, but the accusations have cost him work. His former record label removed his work from its website and he lost a role on the Starz series American Gods he had previously been a part of as part of his semi-regular acting career. In the meantime, the singer hasn’t shied away from controversy. Earlier this year, Manson was asked to remove a video depicting sexual assault from his YouTube page. 

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have been in the midst of a legal battle for years, but things have really stepped up in recent weeks. The U.S. defamation trial has officially begun, with Depp himself testifying for several days about his experience with the Aquaman actress. While getting cross-examined by Heard’s team, Depp admitted to doing drugs with Marilyn Manson and more.

Actor Johnny Depp has taken the stand for days, resulting in countless recallings of his family history, struggles with substance abuse, and his allegations of abuse against Amber Heard. His ex-wife’s legal team got the chance to cross-examine the Pirates of the Caribbean star, with the actor admitting he used drugs with some celebrities (via People). That includes controversial recording artist Marilyn Manson, as Depp offered on the stand:

While the situation with Johnny Depp and Amber Heard is a serious one, he’s been cracking a few jokes from the stand. That’s seemingly the case when it came to Marilyn Manson, as he called the singer chatty in the midst of admitting their drug use together. Manson’s involvement is sure to turn a few heads, especially since the singer’s ex Evan Rachel Wood has alleged sexual and physical abuse by him. Of course, Manson wasn’t the only notable name that was dropped in the examination of Depp.

A variety of celebrities have been tied to Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s legal issues, including Elon Musk (who famously challenged Depp to a cage fight) and Aquaman star Jason Momoa. MCU favorite Paul Bettany has also been named in the drama, with Deep being asked on the stand if the WandaVision actor was a “good friend you've done drugs with.” The Edward Scissorhands star seemed to take umbrage with the question, but confirmed his friendship with Bettany by saying:

Paul Bettany is also tangentially involved in the trial because of text conversations the pair had about the Pirates actor's issues with Amber Heard. The texts date back to 2013, and include the two joking about killing Heard. Depp reportedly sent this message to his Mortdecai co-star:

Paul Bettany’s reps have not provided a comment to the story by People, but it should be interesting to see how much the MCU fan-favorite ends up involved in the legal proceedings between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. 

The drama between the two stars should continue for the foreseeable future, with Amber Heard also set to testify in court. Depp revealed bombshells from the stand, and smart money says that his ex will do just the same. Given the millions of dollars and professional stakes of the trial, tensions are definitely high.

Johnny Depp has recently begun booking new acting jobs, while Amber Heard will appear in Aquaman 2 on March 17th, 2023. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

The past year has seen Evan Rachel Wood and Marilyn Manson’s former relationship put under various moral and legal microscopes, though without much resolution stemming from it all at this point. Wood’s two-part documentary Phoenix Rising aired in mid-March 2022 on HBO, having debuted earlier in the year at the Sundance Film Festival, and sparked a lawsuit from Manson’s legal team. While all of that is happening on the main stage, so to speak, Wood’s supporters are attempting to scrub the Internet of a specific music video from the rock star that allegedly features the Westworld actress being sexually assaulted. 

A petition was started on Change.org with the overall goal of removing Marilyn Manson’s 2007 music video for the single “Heart-Shaped Glasses (When The Heart Guides The Hand)” from YouTube, with other music services being added in after the initial posting. The video was filmed in 2007 when Manson (real name Brian Warner) and Evan Rachel Wood were dating, and made waves at the time for seemingly depicting the couple engaging in legitimate sexual acts. While it was denied at the time by Wood, and seemingly shrugged off by Manson, Wood has since claimed she was given absinthe ahead of filming, and that the physical acts seen therein were non-consensual and to be considered sexual assault. Due to the statute of limitations having passed, however, she has been unable to do anything about it from a legal standpoint. 

While Marilyn Manson has denied all claims of sexual abuse regarding the music video’s filming — as well as the various other rape and assault allegations made against him by Wood and several other women — the attention surrounding the video and its production has only grown. And so fans and supporters of the actress, as well as fellow survivors, allies and advocates, are attempting to remove the video from not only YouTube, but also other mainstream services where the song and/or video can be seen or heard, with TIDAL, Apple Music and Spotify being added onto the petition a few days after it was first posted.

The petition claims the video violates several of YouTube’s Community Guidelines and Policies, including the below:

• Pornography or depicting sexual acts, genitals, or fetishes for the purpose of sexual gratification on any surface (such as video, text, audio, images)
• Nudity or partial nudity for the purpose of sexual gratification
• Non-consensual sex acts or unwanted sexualization
• Violent, graphic, or humiliating fetish content where the purpose is sexual gratification

There is an additional hope that YouTube and other services would remove Marilyn Manson’s channels and hubs altogether, but this would take even more of an effort, and would likely need legal ramifications to come into play. It’s noted that there’s a reported clause in YouTube’s terms of service that specify how channels can be removed due to a subject’s actions away from the platform, but it would likely require Manson’s conviction or confession, which would then need to be judged on how much it “harms the YouTube community.” 

At the time of this writing, the Change.org petition has reached over 43,000 supporters as it attempts to hit the 50,000-signature goal. It’s unclear what could happen at that point if and when the goal is reached, as far as whether or not YouTube execs and others will be convinced to remove “Heart Shaped Glasses” from their platforms. 

Evan Rachel Wood is currently gearing up for an appearance as Madonna in Roku Channel’s upcoming comedic biopic WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story, with Daniel Radcliffe in the starring role. Meanwhile, Marilyn Manson’s music and acting career has stalled, but his relatively recent work with other controversial artists such as with Kanye West for Donda are apparently keeping him busy.  

Say what you will about Kanye West, but the dude has an undeniable knack for pleasing, baffling and angering his fanbase in equal doses with just about everything he does. The impending release of his next album, Donda, is the latest (literally) inflammatory example, as Ye's latest listening party, held in Chicago's Soldier Field, was a truly bonkers exhibition in self-expression. The event featured soon-to-be-ex-wife Kim Kardashian taking the "stage" in a wedding dress, the questionable appearances of controversy-courting musicians Marilyn Manson and DaBaby, and West himself coming out fully engulfed in flames. I guess the only thing missing was a big Drake piñata.

Arguably the biggest news coming out of Kanye West's latest Donda listening party is the fact that Donda didn't drop after the event, which was a rumor that tons of fans had eagerly latched onto, with the assumption that it was the perfect time for a surprise release. Still, that was almost expected, considering the previous delays that have kept the album out of fans' ears. And while it wasn't a totally out-there notion for Kim Kardashian to be in attendance, since that was the case previously, I can't imagine many people expected her to close out the show by appearing outside the recreation of West's childhood home in a white wedding dress for a callback to their wedding.

That's right. Despite being on the brink of divorce — after which she aims to retain the last name West — Kim Kardashian popped up during the event's final song, "No Child Left Behind," to support the father of her children in such an emotionally bizarre way. (And all while rocking out a pretty stunning Balenciaga Couture dress, according to TMZ.) Just because she was present, however, doesn't mean anything has changed regarding their marriage. This was reportedly just Kardashian's way of helping out West's professional career, which she's always said she would continue doing despite the divorce.

Another highly conversation-worthy addition to Kanye West's latest Donda performance was the on-porch inclusion of Marilyn Manson. The hard-rocker has spent much of 2021 sidestepping landmines after Evan Rachel Wood formally accused him of physical and emotional abuse, which sparked a host of other women to come forward with their own allegations of sexual assault, rape and more. Not that West has ever made a point of only hanging out with squeaky-clean artists, but a lot of people were still very confused by Manson's front-line presence during the show.

That said, at least Kanye West didn't shoehorn Marilyn Manson into the evening's events. The same could not be said for rapper DaBaby, who was the subject of a slew of negative tweets after he not only appeared on the house set, but also performed a verse for the title track "Donda." Even outside of his own recent controversy regarding offensive homophobic comments made on stage and beyond, DaBaby's appearance inspired tons of negative tweets from fans who inferred that it meant Jay-Z's previously heard verse on the track had been removed. That wasn't confirmed in any way, but the simple thought was enough.

And hey, what's a big live listening party without somebody setting themselves on fire and walking around as a giant flameball?

The tweet above does a little between-the-lines reading by inferring that Kanye West's flame-suit was in reference to a supposed diss from Drake's verse in Trippie Redd's latest track, "Betrayal." Regardless of the reasoning, though, it was still pretty badass.

For now, Donda is reportedly set to release on September 3, the same day that Drake is dropping his new album, but there's a very good chance West will delay the album's release yet again. Good thing there's a ton of Fall TV to catch up on while waiting, right?

Back in February, a number of women came out with claims alleging that shock rocker and occasional actor Marilyn Manson had been sexually abusive and engaged in domestic violence and even torture. One of these women is Esme Bianco, most well-known in Hollywood for her recurring role playing Ros on Game of Thrones. The 38-year-old actress has now filed a lawsuit against Manson, as well as his former manager, that includes allegations of sexual assault, sexual battery, and human trafficking. Manson’s lawyer Howard King has now responded, in defense of his client, to this lawsuit.

Marilyn Manson is facing some major allegations from Esme Bianco’s lawsuit, but his lawyer plans to "vigorously contest" the accusations. In a statement to Page Six, lawyer Howard King made a says that the events Bianco describes in her lawsuit never even happened and that he and Manson are “confident we will prevail” in court. In fact, King points the finger the other way at Bianco in his statement. Here it is for you to see in the lawyer’s own words:

Though Howard King calls Esme Bianco’s claims “outrageous” and says the events she is claiming “simply never occurred," the actress has previously detailed an account of events that she says dates back to when she and musician Marylin Manson had a long distance relationship. According to her, Manson contacted her after he split with his ex wife Dita Von Teese in 2007, but the relationship and abuse did not begin until he brought her to Hollywood in 2009 under the guise of starring in one of his music videos.

While Esme Bianco did show up to star in a music video for Marylin Manson’s “I Want To Kill You Like They Do in the Movies," when she showed up to the set, she previously alleged there was no crew and only Manson, who then required her to wear lingerie just for him. Bianco also claims she was subjected to threats of rape and violence and has said she was also given drugs and alcohol.

Esme Bianco’s lawsuit states that Marilyn Manson both electrocuted her and beat her with a whip that Manson told her was used by Nazis. Bianco alleges that their relationship involved sleep deprivation and verbal abuse. More specifically, the allegations include a sexual battery claim of a time where Bianco alleges she was cut by Manson during sex without her consent and another time when she reports she was cut, bit, and whipped on her breasts and genitals.

The human trafficking claim comes from the allegation that Marilyn Manson and his management company violated laws when bringing her from her home in London to LA for movie and music video roles that never materialized. Manson has been dropped by his management team and lost work due to the claims of Esme Bianco and other women.

Marilyn Manson’s lawyer states that the lawsuit was only filed after Esme Bianco and her lawyer seemingly tried to settle out of court for a large sum of money, however, Bianco did come forward as an abuse victim back in 2019 to help reform domestic violence laws in California, although she did not name Marilyn Manson at that time. While the lawsuit is still ongoing and no conclusion has been made, but we'll let you know if anything further related to the lawsuit from the former Game of Thrones actress is reported.

Over the past several weeks, a lot of abuse allegations related to singer Marilyn Manson have come down the pipeline from some of his exes. Following the wave of allegations, now it seems like police are looking into at least one of the reports.

The L.A. County Sheriff's Department has plans in the coming days to meet with at least one of Marilyn Manson’s alleged victims, according to a new report over at TMZ. It’s unclear if that victim is Evan Rachel Wood, who is Marilyn Manson’s former partner and also the person who kicked off the abuse allegations a few weeks ago.

The Sheriff’s deputies who are reportedly looking into the allegations want to know if “a crime was committed” and, if yes, whether the acts that have been alleged even fall under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department was also the police force that arrested Danny Masterson on rape charges back in June of 2020. At the time, his bail was $3.3 million.

Evan Rachel Wood has been open about being a part of an abusive relationship for years, but she did not publicly out Marilyn Manson as her reported abuser until early this month. In the post, she made claims about being “brainwashed” and “manipulated” by the singer. She previously had said while testifying to the House Judiciary Subcommittee that her abuser had forced sexual relations on her when she slept and more, also detailing:

Her recent post inspired other women Manson allegedly had encounters with, including but not limited to Sarah McNeilly and Ashley Lindsay Morgan, to also write about their experiences online.

Marilyn Manson has since denied the claims, calling himself a “magnet for controversy.” His ex-wife Dita von Teese has also spoken out, saying she did not encounter any of the type of abuse that has been described during the course of her marriage to Manson, though she did mention she left due to “infidelity” and “drug use.” The two were married between 2005 and 2007, after which Manson’s relationship with Evan Rachel Wood was made public.

Marilyn Manson has been cut from his record label and lost some other projects, including prominent TV work, since the allegations came to light. For example, a Creepshow episode he was supposed to star in will no longer air. Police were also dispatched to Marilyn Manson’s home for a welfare check a couple of days after the Westworld star made allegations, but Manson did not come out of his home. A representative for the singer later said he was reportedly “fine.”

Having first claimed years ago that she'd been in a seriously abusive relationship in her past, Westworld and Frozen II star Evan Rachel Wood recently went public in identifying ghoulish rock star Marilyn Manson as the alleged perpetrator of said abuse. Wood's claims inspired other women to come forth with their own accusations against Manson, causing many to wonder if his ex-wife, the multi-hyphenate Dita Von Teese, would come forward with similar experiences from their years together.

While she didn't share any statements right away, the burlesque queen Dita Von Teese did eventually speak up concerning the disturbing allegations made about Marilyn Manson. However, she did not any further fuel to the fire, saying this on Instagram:

Dita Von Teese and Marilyn Manson first became a couple in the early 2000s, with the musician having previously attempted unsuccessfully to get the model and actress to appear in one of his music videos. (She did later show up in the videos for his 2003 singles "mOBSCENE" and "(s)AINT.") After a few years of dating, Manson proposed, and in 2005 – the same year Von Teese starred in the award-winning short film The Death of Salvador Dali –the two were married in 2005 in a private and rather lavish ceremony that took place within an Irish castle. Von Teese revealed many years later that she felt their marriage, which she wasn't 100% into going through with, was the beginning of the end for their relationship.

A little over a year later, Dita Von Teese filed for divorce from Marilyn Manson, with the reasoning at the time being reported as "irreconcilable differences." In the months that followed, Von Teese publicly noted that Manson's rampant partying and drug use, combined with his extramarital relationship, caused her to end their marriage. Perhaps indicative of his lifestyle at the time, Manson wasn't even aware that Von Teese left him until a week later, on his birthday, when he received the divorce paperwork.

Considering they were a close-knit couple for around seven years, it certainly makes sense that fans would have questions and curiosities about whether or not Von Teese went through the same kind of physical and mental abuse that Evan Rachel Wood and others allege they suffered due to Manson's behavior. But with her lone statement on the matter, Von Teese appears to have put those worries to rest.

Speaking to her point that she wouldn't have gone through with marrying him had he treated her the way others claim they were treated, Dita Von Teese stated in relatively recent years that they eventually rekindled their friendship, according to Female First. In her words:

Dita Von Teese is currently in a relationship with Disney graphic designer Adam Rajcevich, which started up in 2014. It's not clear if the two will ever wed, however, as she still says her final year with Marilyn Manson put her off of the idea of marriage.

In the meantime, Marilyn Manson's career has currently imploded. Following the allegations, he was dropped by his record label, which stated it would no longer be promoting his September 2020 release WE ARE CHAOS. As well, his already filmed performances in such shows as American Gods and Creepshow will no longer go to air, and he was also released from the talent agency CAA. For what it's worth, he did release a statement denying the accusations, calling them "horrible distortions of reality," though he did not say if or how he intends to refute Wood's and others' claims.

Rarely one to avoid a controversy throughout his bizarro career, shock rocker Marilyn Manson hasn't dealt with anything quite like the troublesome turmoil that went down on February 1. Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood, who was temporarily engaged to Manson more than a decade ago, publicly accused the musician of patterned physical and mental abuse during their relationship, which inspired a handful of other women to also speak out about their own allegedly abusive experiences with him in years past. The effects on Manson's music and TV career were swift, and rather than speak through legal representation, he directly responded to the allegations.

Taking to Instagram to offer up his side of things – and perhaps wisely making sure to turn comments off of the post – Marilyn Manson said the following:

Marilyn Manson didn't name Evan Rachel Wood (or any of his other accusers) in his response, similar to the way the actress went years talking about an abusive relationship without name-checking Manson as the other partner. It's unclear what the next step will be for the rock star at this point, though, since merely refuting the multiple accusations to his fanbase likely won't get him back all the gigs he lost throughout the day.

After Evan Rachel Wood's statement came out in the morning, it seemed likely that Marilyn Manson's career would be affected in some way, and it wasn't very long before action was taken. First, his now-former record label Lorna Vista Recordings removed Manson and his albums from its website – he'd just put out his latest release WE ARE CHAOS with them on September 11, 2020 –and then released the following statement according to Billboard:

After that, a Starz representative announced that Marilyn Manson would be edited out of an upcoming Season 3 episode of American Gods, which seemingly can't avoid seasonal controversies. On the fantasy drama, Manson had a small recurring role as Johan Wengren, the blood-thirsty lead singer of the Viking death metal band Blood Death. He'd already appeared in two previous episodes, including the one that aired the night before Evan Rachel Wood's allegations went public. It's unclear if those scenes will remain in the episodes for future airings and home entertainment releases.

Marilyn Manson, who has also appeared in such shows as Salem and Sons of Anarchy, was also set to take on a guest-starring role in Greg Nicotero's Creepshow anthology series on the Shudder streaming service. However, AMC Networks confirmed that the segment he appeared in will be replaced when that episode is released. (Probably a good thing that he wasn't ever added into The Stand adaptation on CBS All Access.)

This wasn't the first time that Marilyn Manson – real name Brian Warner – has been the subject of disturbing allegations. In 2018, a police report was filed against him alleging crimes of a sexual nature going back to 2011. However, the LAPD didn't pursue the case due to the absence of corroborated evidence, as well as the statute of limitations having expired at that point.

Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood has spoken up in the past about at least one former relationship that allegedly involved nightmarish abuse, but without ever going so far as to identify the person she was speaking about. That silence has come to an end, however, with Wood going public and name-checking shock rocker and occasional actor Marilyn Manson, saying that he "horrifically abused" her for years. Following the actress and activist's accusations, more women have come out with their own abuse allegations.

Having quit Twitter last year, Evan Rachel Wood took to Instagram to call out Marilyn Manson, real name Brian Warner, for allegedly grooming, brainwashing and manipulating her during their relationship, which began in the mid-2000s when she was 18 years old and he was 36. Here's how she put it in her post:

Evan Rachel Wood, who came out as bisexual after her relationship with Manson ended, has spoken out against sexual abuse in the past, most notably in front of a House Judiciary Subcommittee with the goal of getting the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights passed across the country. But while she has long been open to a certain extent about her past experiences, she'd always left her abuser's name out of it, and her post seems to imply that she didn't call Marilyn Manson out personally in the past due to fear of being blackmailed or retaliated against.

After Evan Rachel Wood's post started making the rounds, it inspired other women to come forward to share their own accusations against Marilyn Manson, who got married for the second time in 2020, to Lindsay Usich. (He was previously married to Dita Von Teese from 2005-2007.) Each of the women shared their stories on Instagram, though not all of them have remained active, with one in particular being taken down. Here are the claims made by Sarah McNeilly:

Below are the allegations shared by Ashley Lindsay Morgan, who claimed that her relationship with Marilyn Manson happened around a decade ago while she was modeling in Thailand. Things reportedly went from her feeling comfortable in the early days to him eventually coaxing her to bring him Nazi memorabilia from her trips to Bangkok, which allegedly occurred on top of him hurting, shaming and degrading her. Here's how she put it:

Another woman who goes simply by Gabriella shared her own awful claims, which involved allegedly being forced into a situation where she overdosed on drugs and wasn't allowed to be taken to the hospital.

At this time, it doesn't appear as if Marilyn Manson has public responded to the abuse claims made against him. As well, no updates have come from the Concord or Loma Vista Recordings, the labels behind his latest album, WE ARE CHAOS, which released in September 2020.

Evan Rachel Wood, meanwhile, is presumably set to reprise the role of Dolores when HBO's Westworld returns for Season 4, although that's still not exactly a certainty, given how Season 3 ended for the A.I. host.

Speculation surrounding Marilyn Manson’s involvement in CBS All Access' The Stand miniseries circulated for months before it became clear the shock rocker isn't involved. The singer was initially rumored to be playing the role of the Trashcan Man in the upcoming adaptation of Stephen King’s post-apocalyptic 1978 novel, which was debunked by Ezra Miller's shocking first look as that very character. Now, The Stand's executive producer Josh Boone personally addressed the Manson rumors to set the record straight.

While conjecture suggested that Marilyn Manson had previously filmed footage for The Stand, he was reportedly never actually up for the role of the Trashcan Man — a role that was officially offered to (and accepted by) Fantastic Beasts franchise actor Ezra Miller. However, the rumors did have some grain of truth to them. According to Josh Boone, Manson was approached about playing The Kid, a minor antagonist from the unabridged version of Stephen King's novel. Here’s what The New Mutants director told EW:

Well, there you have it! While Josh Boone would have welcomed Marilyn Manson’s involvement on The Stand, it turns out the Grammy-nominated musician never filmed any scenes for the role at all. It is definitely unfortunate that Manson’s schedule, combined with the series’ limited budget, meant that neither he nor The Kid could make the cut.

Television productions are tricky and complicated to put together, so not everything Josh Boone & Co. hoped to include made it into the series. Of course, The Kid isn’t very essential to the main narrative, so his absence won’t make that much of a difference. However, it would’ve been pretty cool to have seen Marilyn Manson take on the role, since it's high time he showed up in a Stephen King adaptation. Better luck next time, I suppose.

All that said, it's also a shame that Marilyn Manson and Shooter Jennings' cover of The Doors’ “The End” won’t be making it into The Stand. Manson confirmed that he'd recorded the song for the upcoming series all the way back in July of 2019, so it’s a bit disappointing that viewers won’t get to hear it at any point in the show. Here's hoping that Josh Boone fulfills his dream to work with the goth singer at some point again in the future. (Manson had a voice role in The New Mutants.)

The Stand is scheduled to premiere on Thursday, December 17 on CBS All Access. The miniseries will consist of nine episodes that will air weekly. For more on what to watch in the meantime, be sure to check out our fall TV premiere guide and our 2021 winter and spring schedule.

Actors face many trials in showbiz, and one of the most dangerous is being typecast. If an actor takes too many similar roles, he or she will suddenly be stuck playing magicians or hobbits or villains for the rest of their careers. As a musician known for his relatively dark tunes, Marilyn Manson doesn’t seem to worry about typecasting, and it's no surprise that his relatively few on-screen parts have been darker ones. Now, Manson has signed on to play a role on a show that appears to be a perfect fit: Salem.

Manson will guest-star as a character called Thomas Dinley, who works as the barber/surgeon to the residents of Salem. While there generally isn’t much overlap in the barber and surgeon professions nowadays, Salem is set way back in the 17th century at a time when the two could presumably be handled by one man. According to TVLine, Dinley will take care of the residents who visit him for anything from a shave and a haircut to being leeched, bled, sliced open, and/or sewn up.

Salem has aired two seasons on WGN America since premiering in 2014, and it loosely follows the real-life events of the Salem witch trials in the 1600s. A major difference between the show and the actual historical record is that Salem is not exactly ambiguous about whether or not witches are real and have a place in the town. Witches are definitely real and at large in Salem, and it’s been an intriguing series that Manson will likely feel right at home in, even if it's only for one episode.

Importing Manson in for a guest stint on Salem may seem to come a little bit out of nowhere, but he’s actually had a connection with the series from the beginning. He collaborated with composer Tyler Bates on the show’s theme song, entitled “Cupid Carries a Gun.”

Manson has had memorable appearances on television in the past. He played a role that came naturally to him – that is, a version of himself – on Showtime’s Californication, and he had a recurring part in the final season of FX’s Sons of Anarchy as a white supremacist. It should be interesting to see how Manson’s performance on Salem will compare to his previous appearances on the small screen.

Season 3 of Salem has only just started production, so we still have quite a while until we get to see Marilyn Manson's Thomas Dinley breaking out the scissors and scalpels. Luckily, there’s plenty of solid programming to pass the time as we wait. For a look at when your other favorite shows will be debuting in 2016, check out our list of midseason TV premiere dates.

Working all the angles means having one’s eyes and ears in all places at once, which is virtually impossible, even when everybody’s working together. Jax has been biting off more than he could chew for years now, but his schemes are now a lot more impulsive than they used to be, and SAMCRO is a lot more transparent than it used to be. Which is how “Poor Little Lambs” ends with 16 dead bodies inside of a whorehouse and one SAMCRO member's corpse shoved inside a wooden box. Sons of Anarchy throws all-out massacres into the mix as often as some sitcoms use jokes.

”What happens at Diosa will impact you.”

So, we all know that Jax has done a pretty shitty job of having SAMCRO clean up after itself during this season’s “us vs. the world” storyline. It turns out it was all for naught anyway, as Lin is sick of being lied to. So sick, in fact, that he not only bombs the ice cream shop, but he has also stolen the club’s guns (killing West in the process), and then orders a hit on everyone who happens to be inside of Diosa on that fateful evening. This includes Colette, who first passes Gemma’s Mommy Fetish personality test, as well as some of those other scantily clad ladies whose names are…on the actresses’ resumes.

This is probably going to be the corpse-shaped last straw for Nero, who already spent an earlier part of the episode dealing with Sheriff Jarry on the issue of the abusive father that Jax beat the shit out of last week. Turns out the guy spent a day and a half in the hospital and is retracting his pressed charges. Jax comes clean about it, but Nero knows that Jax is burning up fast at both ends, and he lets Gemma know as much. That rift is going to be too much for Gemma and Nero to live through at some point soon, especially now that they’re being more honest about keeping secrets from one another.

And so now where is the club at? They no longer have the never-busy ice cream shop, which means we’ll probably be getting yet another change of scenery. Jax no longer has Nero’s trust, though I’m sure that was already gone. SAMCRO no longer has a second legit income, unless Diosa had a wholly different second string of girls ready to take the places of all the dead ones. And even though Chibs’ sweet hand action with Sheriff Jarry might get her less focused on the bomb, she’s certainly not going to let bygones be bygones over a bunch of dead people. Plus, you just know the club is going to one to take revenger for West's death, whenever they find out about it. Great job, Jax. You’re almost ready to be President of the United States at this point.

”Dog food’s got an expiration date.”

In trying to mend fences with Whitey, Jax sets up a meet with a bunch of tattooed skinheads to trade off the leftover Chinese heroin. Unfortunately, Deputy Sheriff Cane and Officer Eglee arrive at the scene, which spooks the supremacists, whose first instinct is to kill both cops. The meeting then splits, with both parties leaving to avoid a future where authorities are swarming the area, but nobody stopped to make sure Eglee was actually dead. She isn’t, and she’ll definitely be able to place at least Jax and SAMCRO at the scene, even if she doesn’t know the other guys. This could be major trouble, as Jax told Jarry they had nothing to do with it, which probably means someone is going to try and kill Eglee as soon as possible.

Why is everyone talking to themselves?

Gemma is sort of crazy now, talking to Tara’s spirit as if it was her guardian angel. But it’s already getting old, as she’s not even saying anything interesting. It’s like Rick in The Walking Dead. Get rid of this pointless gimmick quickly. I’d rather watch Gemma go nutso in a different way; quietly and with one eye always blinking.

The same goes for Juice, who is just sitting in his hotel room talking to no one in particular about trying to get back into the club. (I definitely thought someone was going to be in that shower for whatever reason.) And then we’re introduced to Courtney Love’s teacher character, who arbitrarily just comments on Gemma after their meet has concluded, saying, “Damn, grandma’s kinda crazy,” or something like that. It would have been weird enough on its own, but there’s already too much self-talk happening in this episode. Why is this a theme, Kurt Sutter?

”I feel we are connected on a deeper vibration.”

Venus is back! At least for tonight, and then again later in the season. Not only does she help the guys on a conquest, but we finally get to see just how deep her friendship with Tig runs. Hint: it runs to at least first base. I don’t think anyone was surprised by any of this, as even before all of Tig’s moon-eyed looks at Venus earlier in the episode, we knew he had a soft spot for her. Or should I say, a really hard spot. In the pants.

My only complaint here has nothing to do with Tig and Venus’ spit-swapping kinship. It’s that Venus came back as a part of this whole porn-shooting pastor and his family ties storyline. I get that this is going to come back to August and that it’ll put Jax even deeper into the crime boss’ doghouse, but none of it feels like it’s worth paying attention to. The only thing this plotline made me take note of was during the scene when they dig the corpse up to get his cell phone; I held my breath through that entire scene, as if I would also be able to smell the decomposition. Otherwise, all this has done was put a bullet into Tig’s stomach, and I don’t see yet why that was necessary.

Some Clever Juice-Related Header

Juice is still there, complaining that his life means nothing if he’s all alone. Cry me a slip-and-slide.

Next week looks like it’s going to kick things up another notch or two, as this fractured house of cigarette packs will continue to crash down all around Jax until there’s no one left standing. Except probably Unser, because he’s pretty good at surviving.

Stuff That Fell Off the Back of the Bike

“Charming. Our name says it all.” What’s your angle, Jarry? WHAT’S YOUR ANGLE?!?

Without the ice cream shop, what meaningless task is Chuckie going to have to take on now? Fro-yo?

I burst out laughing when Gemma said that Abel was like his father and that he “knows his tribe.” I’m pretty sure Abel wouldn’t know a lemon from a piss-stained pair of underwear.

“I miss my dogs.” By far the best line reading Marilyn Manson could possibly be capable of.

It’s hard not to laugh when Gemma tells a woman that she will shove coffee up her ass, all while in front of the woman’s cookie-munching child. He’s like, “Whatever. Everyone hates my mom.”

“Cause the next time, that ice cream shop could be filled with kids.” As if any kids ever went into that place.

“Guess your folks were hoping for a black baby…Absolutely, sistahhh.” Gemma is terrible, but is amazing at it.

“Are you shitting me?”

“No, that comes later.”

September 9, Sons of Anarchy fans! That's the day the biker drama will return to FX for its seventh and final season. And there's more! Not only will Sons of Anarchy's premiere run a bit long, but FX is also going to air the Sons post-show Anarchy Afterword following the premiere episode. FX also has plans to air a live post-show after the series finale.

THR shared the news today, noting that the super sized premiere episode will have a run time of one hour and forty-five minutes. The episode will air Tuesday, September 9 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, after which FX will air Anarchy Afterword. The Sons of Anarchy post-show debuted last year and streamed online after the East Coast broadcast of certain episodes of Sons of Anarchy during its sixth season.

Hosted by Chelsea Lately's Chris Franjola, Anarchy Afterword looks back at the recently aired episode, featuring guests connected with the show -- Kurt Sutter and/or cast members -- and the show allows fans to call in or Tweet questions. THR says FX will air the post-show for the first time ever after the Season 7 premiere, and they'll air another one after the series finale. Between those two episodes, Anarchy Afterword will also stream additional episodes on FXNow a few times throughout the season, and those are expected to be available on Video on Demand.

Given that this is the final season of Sons of Anarchy, and factoring in the shocking events of the Season 6 finale, something tells me we're in for a roaring ride. With that in mind, it'll be great to hear the post-premiere discussion presented to us on Anarchy Afterword.

In related news, we learned back in May that musician Marilyn Manson was set to guest star on Sons of Anarchy during Season 7. Today, Manson Tweeted a photo that teases his guest role on the series. From his caption, it doesn't sound like they're friends...

Manson's character's name is Ron Tully, hence the mentioned "R.T."

In addition to Manson, Season 7 will include appearances by Annabeth Gish, Courtney Love and Walton Goggins, who will reprise his role as the lovely Venus Van Dam for the final season.

Marilyn Manson is kind of a strange guy. Like other celebrity weirdos, he likes to get up to a lot of interesting nonsense, and over the past few years, he’s begun to try his hand at acting, popping up in both dramas and comedies. This week, we learned that Manson’s next gig will take him over to FX, where he will appear in the show’s intense drama Sons of Anarchy.

If you are a fan of Marilyn Manson’s acting work, there is even better news. Instead of a guest gig, the musician-turned-actor has signed on for a recurring role in Sons of Anarchy’s seventh and final season. According to Variety, during this fall’s episodes, Manson will play a white supremacist named Ron Tully. Tully will be incarcerated during the series, but will somehow get involved with lead character Jax, who uses him to expand his network and gain power. Needless to say, sweet dreams are definitely not made of this.

Early acting roles for Marilyn Manson have included The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things and Party Monster, but recently the man has increased his pedigree quite a bit, popping up in HBO’s hit comedy Eastbound & Down and taking a voice acting role in ABC’s popular fairytale drama Once Upon a Time. Regardless, not only does the Sons of Anarchy gig seem like it will be a bigger deal, the man also seems genuinely enthused to have landed the role, citing his pops as a big reason he wanted to take the job.

Sons of Anarchy is expected to air its seventh and final season this September. We don't know a ton about the new season, but you can read about Drea De Matteo's promotion and more here. Or, you can be like everyone else on the Internet and speculate wildly. Last season, of course, ended in pretty epic fashion. As a result, there's quite a few messes to clean up and quite a few problems to sort out. Regardless of what happens, FX is probably pretty confident that a lot of people will be around to see it. Ratings have increased pretty steadily since the first season, and it's hard to imagine that upward trajectory will change anytime soon, especially with the guaranteed conclusion on the horizon.

Sons of Anarchy airs on Tuesday nights at 10 PM EST on FX.

Marilyn Manson is mostly known for creepy stage makeup and singles featuring titles like “This is the New Shit” and “The Beautiful People,” but the man has done some acting in the past, probably for movies you’ve never seen nor heard of. Additionally, he played himself on Showtime’s hit series, Californication. Now he’s branching out and taking more mainstream gigs, including a role on Eastbound & Down’s final season and on ABC’s family-friendly program, Once Upon a Time.

Once Upon a Time showrunners Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz broke the news this week to Rolling Stone, noting that they actually invited Manson to join the show to voice the character of Shadow, who has already appeared in Season 3. It looks like the guys actually reached out to get Manson on the series.

Since Shadow is a character in Neverland that’s a little different than fans of the Peter Pan story may remember, that “skin crawl” comment makes sense. The character is interested in horrid activities like kidnapping and soul stealing. It’s always fun for any actor to play a villain and the gig should be a great way for Manson to get his feet wet on network TV.

While Kitsis and Horowitz were stoked about booking Manson for the role, Eastbound & Down had a super easy time nabbing Manson for a guest stint. That’s because Manson has been a longtime fan of the show and has popped up on set during filming before. TMZ reports the man actually had to lobby for the gig for a couple of years before the HBO comedy made room for him, but it eventually happened after some North Carolina tour dates landed him close enough to where the show shoots. He’ll be popping up in Season 4 as a regular-looking dude, which should be a treat for those who think the man’s in stage makeup all the time.

I don’t know if this means Manson is slowing down his music career somewhat to pursue acting gigs on the regular. The aging-ish rocker did have a stage collapse back in February. While he’s still touring, I could totally see wanting to do acting gigs on the side. I do know that if I were him, I would take any reasonable side gig that was thrown my way. It’s a day you would get to spend on a some sort of stage, playing cool characters and trying new things. If anyone can relate to becoming a persona, it should be Manson.

We’re not sure when Manson’s Eastbound & Down appearance will hit the schedule, but his Once Upon a Time episode will air in November of this year.

Paris Jackson had a lot on her mind in the weeks leading up to her suicide attempt thanks to the AEG trial and Wade Robson’s molestation claims against her deceased father, but the last thing she argued about was reportedly far lighter in nature: whether or not she would be allowed to attend a Marilyn Manson concert. Her guardians reportedly weren’t too keen on the idea, but in light of what happened, they may reconsider and if they do, Manson will welcome the girl to the show whether she has a ticket or not.

Here’s what the famed musician told TMZ about his fifteen-year-old fan…

A small minority of people have taken Marilyn’s comment very negatively. They’ve interpreted it to be an intentional offer to Paris to overstep her familial bonds, but I really don’t see it as an mean-spirited slight toward her guardians. Instead, I see it as a concerned celebrity just trying to extend a loving hand to one of his fans who is going through a rough time right about now.

Jackson has reportedly recovered very well from her issues physically, but she’s still in the hospital on the mandatory psych hold that comes with all suicide attempts. Here’s to hoping when she emerges from the hospital, it’s as a changed person with a new-found positivity and maybe, with the full blessing of her guardians, backstage tickets to a Marilyn Manson concert to look forward to.

Marilyn Manson might be used to creeping out concertgoers with his strange antics, but last night, he inspired genuine fear after he suddenly collapsed on stage during a performance in Canada. Stagehands quickly rushed out to help and his bandmates continued with the song, but ultimately, he was unable to continue with the gig.

You can take a look at footage from the incident below. With the lights and the smoke, it’s a bit difficult to tell exactly what is happening, but if you watch the center of the screen, you can see him helped off the stage…

Following the incident, sources close to Manson reached out to TMZ and explained what happened. Apparently, the singer had been sick all day but decided he was well enough to perform. As the gig went on, he started feeling sicker and sicker, voting several times before he took a spill and had to be helped off the stage during “Beautiful People”. If all goes according to plan, he’s still going to perform in Calgary this week and continue with the tour dates moving forward.

Manson might be a strange guy, but by all accounts, he’s also a professional and a hard worker. Here’s to hoping his next gig is a little less noteworthy.

Season 6 of Californication is not set to premiere until January of 2013, but cast members are currently being added left and right to the new season. 24 actress Sarah Wynter has already been added to the cast and just a couple of days ago, we noted Friends’ Maggie Wheeler—otherwise known as Janice—will also be joining the cast in a recurring role. Like bad luck, casting apparently comes in threes, and now the show has added an unlikely guest star to the lineup.

Marilyn Manson is set to join the cast of the hit Showtime program in a season tinged with sex, drugs, and rock and roll. While the musician has dabbled in acting in the past, most notably in movies like Rise: Blood Hunter and The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things, he is not really known for his acting skills. Because of this, it is no surprise Manson will play himself on Californication.

According to THR, the 43-year-old musician is set to appear in the seventh episode of Season 6. The roughly half-hour episode will feature Manson when he shows up at a party thrown at Atticus Fetch’s house, so we’ll get to see the musician interact with characters in a party setting as well as chat with Hank. Californication has sort of been same old same old for at least a season and I’m not certain adding Manson to the cast will change that, but I am happy the show is attempting to spice things up regardless.

Johnny Depp has plenty of musical skill and has played a few gigs with big names in the past. Last year, the actor signed on with Alice Cooper for one night, playing songs like “I’m 18” at a gig in London. More recently, however, the 48 year-old rocked out in a feathered fedora and other concert attire on stage with none other than Marilyn Manson, who treated audiences to some of his biggest hits.

Depp joined the band during Revolver Magazine’s Golden God Awards Show, playing guitar on “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” and “Beautiful People,” and generally seeming to have a good time. At first the actor is sort of hanging in the backdrop and doing his own thing; but later, Manson makes a point to make Depp’s presence more of a spotlight, eventually even showing a surprisingly emotional hugging display before the Depp headed offstage.

I almost hate to send you to watch either of these videos, as Manson is far past his performing heyday and “Sweet Dreams” in particular is a rather grating performance in terms of vocals. However, both Manson and Depp seem to be having a pretty good time on stage. The rapport should be fun to watch, even if the vocals are lacking. Who wouldn't dig watching a dude in face paint play with another dude hiding under a fedora?

Talented actress Evan Rachel Wood is often talked about more for what goes on in her personal life than the work she does on the silver screen. In 2006, the Ides of March star was rumored to have come between Marilyn Manson and his then-wife Dita Von Teese, which led to an on and off romance that lasted over four years. Wood, who is now in a relationship with British actor Jamie Bell, has always been keen to deny these reports. "The real story has never been told and I've never felt the need to come out and defend myself, because I know what happened and I know I'm not that. I don't need people's approval of my personal life," Wood says. "If you don't know me or the situation, then you can't really have an opinion about it."

Recently, the 24-year-old actress came out as bisexual in an interview which suggested she was all too eager to reveal this little tidbit, leading to speculation that she made the comments just for publicity. Wood, who came out privately to her family years ago, has defended herself in a recent interview with The Guardian:

I like what she's saying here. I definitely think it's important for LGBT youths to have someone to look up to and understand that there is nothing strange about them. However, building yourself up like that as a role model for others is a tricky thing-- I know I wouldn't want to feel like the whole world was watching me, counting on me for inspiration. Wood agrees, and claims she does her best to select roles that really mean something to her in the hope that people will see her passion for acting and not focus on her personal life. "I totally get how sometimes it's hard not to be distracted by that but I just hope that the lasting impression [of me] is going to come from the work," she says.

I think she's doing a decent job of that. She's been a part of some great films, my favorites being Woody Allen's fantastic 2009 comedy Whatever Works and the film adaptation of the Augusten Burroughs memoir Running With Scissors. Hopefully, people will be able to focus on movies like those and ignore the personal drama. After all, none of us really know the truth and it's not really fair to judge someone by what goes on behind closed doors--even if they are keen to bring it up in an interview or two.

While Blend Games is usually able to smell free games with bloodhound-like precision, this one slipped by us. As of last Monday, Midway has been offering their 2005 first-person shooter Area 51 for free. Completely free? Well, minus a small annoyance.

The game won't cost you anything to download but you will have to put up with advertisements when you start it up. The giveaway is sponsored by the US Air Force. No, they're not using the game to track you down, throw you in a burlap sack and mail you to Afghanny-stan - though I'm sure years of first-person shooters have given you great combat skills and exercise habits.

It's not an amazing game but it is pretty decent. Players control a special forces trooper (voiced by David Duchovny) who must lead a team into Area 51, the secret military base, and stop the spread of a deadly virus that turns humans into mutants. Marilyn Manson did some voicework for the game, too, which must've made the hearts of parent groups flutter. A violent first-person shooter with Marilyn Manson? The outraged press release practically types itself!

Anyway, yeah, it's decent and it's free. You've downloaded worse stuff.