Content warning: this article discusses sexual assault and violence and may be distressing to some readers. If you are experiencing sexual abuse or other unwanted behaviour, please contact Full Stop Australia.
Evan Rachel Wood’s highly-anticipated documentary series Phoenix Rising has finally been released on BINGE.
The show chronicles Wood’s allegations of abuse against her former fiancé Brian Warner, known publicly as Marilyn Manson, along with her pursuit for federal legislative change around the statute of limitation for sexual assault survivors.
In the wake of the limited-series release, an online petition calling for Manson’s music video for the 2007 single ‘Heart-Shaped Glasses (When The Heart Guides The Hand)’ to be removed from streaming platforms including YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music has been released.
One of the most harrowing scenes from Phoenix Rising was Wood’s retelling of the alleged sexual assault that occurred while shooting the music video. Wood claims that she was “essentially raped on camera”.
As per the documentary, Wood claimed that she did not consent to the act, was drugged and also unconscious when the sexual abuse occurred. The petition claimed that while Wood is unable to press charges against Manson, because the statute of limitations has passed, the music video should be taken down at the very minimum.
Petition founder Victoria Ambrose wrote in the petition that “Evan has re-victimized herself over and over again to create change and a statute of limitations in the state of California, and doesn’t deserve a constant reminder of her sexual assault on the internet.”
“This should not still be allowed on YouTube, or circulating anywhere for that matter,” Ambrose argued.
At the time of writing Manson’s video has over 32 million views.
Wood herself has backed the petition and supported the removal of the video, sharing a link to sign the appeal with her 998,000 Instagram followers. Currently, the petition has garnered 30 thousand signatures since its launch on March 16.
While the petition claimed the video has violated YouTube’s Community Guidelines and Policies, a spokesperson for the platform told The Daily Mail they are “monitoring the situation closely and will take appropriate action if we determine there is a breach of our creator responsibility guidelines”.
Manson has vehemently denied all allegations of abuse, citing the accusations are “horrible distortions of reality” in a social media post.
On February 2021, Wood claimed in an Instagram post that Manson “groomed” her when she was a teenager, “horrifically abused” her and was “brainwashed and manipulated into submission”.
In that same month, Manson retaliated by sharing his own post to Instagram, with the image reading “my intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how—and why—others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth”.
Manson has also issued his own complaint against Wood, accusing the actress of “wrongful and illegal acts” including defamation, fraud and conspiracy. Speaking on daytime talk-show The View, Wood has declared that she’s “not scared” of the lawsuit.
Phoenix Rising is now available to stream on BINGE. You can stream the two-part documentary for free with a two-week trial when you sign up here.
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