Phoenix Rising: Evan Rachel Wood on Marilyn Manson and protecting victims of domestic violence

On 1 February 2021, Emmy-nominated Westworld star Evan Rachel Wood posted explosive information on Instagram about her abuser.

“The name of my abuser is Brian Warner, also known as Marilyn Manson. He started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years. I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission. I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him, before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”

Entertainment channel Showmax is now screening Phoenix Rising, a two-part HBO documentary that follows the true story of how Wood advocated for The Phoenix Act to extend the statute of limitations in California for domestic violence felonies, and moved toward naming her alleged abuser for the first time.

Produced and directed by Oscar-, Emmy- and BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg (The Case Against Adnan Syed, Deliver Us from Evil), the documentary has a 97% critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus says, “Evan Rachel Wood is fearless in Phoenix Rising, a harrowing exposé on abuse, tabloid complicity, and the long process of healing.”

The Telegraph called the documentary a “blazingly courageous, necessary watch”, while The Wrap hailed it as “a wake-up call to us all.”

Brian Warner has since sued Wood for “a conspiracy” to “publicly cast” him as a “rapist and abuser,” which, he says, is “ a malicious falsehood that has derailed [his] successful music, TV and film career.”

Phoenix Rising features a series of animated portraits of Marilyn Manson, which were created for the documentary by South African fashion designer and artist Marc Bouwer, whose work has included Angelina Jolie’s iconic 2004 Oscars gown.

Watch the trailer: