Slipknot fans boycott Wembley shows over Marilyn Manson — SkimNews
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- Slipknot announced Marilyn Manson as support act for their new world tour, including dates at Wembley Stadium and the South American leg, with metalcore band Hatebreed also on the London bill.
- Slipknot fans flooded an Instagram post about the London lineup with criticism, with some self-described longtime fans saying they would not buy tickets and one calling the announcement 'such a disappointment.'
- Marilyn Manson, real name Brian Warner, has consistently denied the abuse allegations, calling them 'horrible distortions of reality' and insisting his 'intimate relationships had always been entirely consensual.'
- Evan Rachel Wood, who was in a three-year relationship with Manson starting in 2007, publicly alleged in 2021 that he 'horrifically abused' and 'manipulated' her, and several other women made similar accusations on social media.
- Manson sued Wood and another woman for defamation, accusing them of impersonating FBI agents and forging federal documents; a judge dismissed some claims before he settled in 2024 and agreed to pay Wood's legal fees.
- Los Angeles prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against Manson last year after a four-year investigation, citing expired statutes of limitations on domestic abuse claims and inability to prove sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt.
Why it matters: The backlash exposes a fault line in live music booking: fans are organizing against artists who face serious allegations but no criminal convictions. For Slipknot, thousands of negative responses to the lineup announcement risk denting demand at flagship Wembley dates, while the Manson booking gives him a major-tour platform despite four years of unproven criminal scrutiny.
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