Evan Rachel Wood has opened up about the abuse she suffered at the hands of ex-fiancé Marilyn Manson. “The Westworld” actress confessed that her character Dolores has helped her recognize the abuse for what it was.
Evan said starring in Westworld helped her recognize the alleged abuse
In the new documentary, “Narcissist’s Playbook,” the actress admitted that it was not until she took up Dolores’s role in Westworld that she began questioning her situation. The actress said, “I really thought that I was going to go to my grave with everything that happened.”
According to People, the actress admits that though the beginning of the relationship seemed harmless, Manson’s inclination for manipulation set the stage for what was to happen.
“I was 18, and Brian Warner was 37. He really started right away with the ‘Nobody really sees you, do they?’… I felt lonely and unseen,” Wood recalls in the documentary. “He began to exploit that right away, immediately saying things like, ‘I love you’ and ‘We’re soulmates.’ ”
Gradually, Manson’s violent streak became apparent. Wood recalls one particularly distressing situation: “He made me kneel on a prayer kneeler in the prayer position, tied me up and beat me over and over with a whip and electrocuted my body.… On the TV screen in front of me while I’m kneeled down are violent images”.
Wood also said that she soon discovered the parallels between her and her character’s life arc. She explained, “People can choose to be nice to [Dolores], or they can choose to abuse her, and just do unspeakable, horrific things to her.… It was so hard not to see Brian [in that].” At the end of the first season, just like Dolores, Wood was “awake” and ready to confront her reality.
Manson, who Wood dated from 2006-2010, has denied all allegations against him, calling them “horrible distortions of reality.”
“Narcissist’s Playbook: Empathy Not Included” is currently available to rent through its official streaming platform.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
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