Marilyn Manson has spoken out about his relationship with former bassist Twiggy Ramirez, suggesting that there was much more at play in his exit than rape allegations.
Ramirez – real name Jeordie White – was last year accused of rape and sexual assault by former partner Jessicka Addams, the singer of riot grrrl band Jack Off Jill. Addams detailed Ramirez’s alleged actions in a Facebook post, characterising their relationship as abusive and describing one instance where Ramirez allegedly raped her while he was on a break from touring.
Now, Manson has said that he formed a stronger creative and musical relationship with Tyler Bates, leaning more on him than Ramirez on his recent albums, ‘The Pale Emperor‘ and ‘Heaven Upside Down‘.
“I did not divorce Twiggy as a friend or brother, because I still care about him greatly,” Manson told Kerrang. “But I can’t say that my musical relationship with Twiggy has been good for several years. My relationship with Tyler Bates on [2015’s] ‘The Pale Emperor’ made something open up in me and I didn’t want to let negative energy back in my life.”
He added: “There were other people in my life that I thought were my friends that I had to cut out this year, a lot of betrayals that surprised me, and I had to clean house and adopt and new attitude. People mistook my kindness and generosity for weakness. So I kinda adapted this attitude, like, ‘If you fuck with me, there will be consequences.’ I have issues with intimacy. That might sound weird given that we’re lying in bed together, but y’know…”
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Ramirez later responded to the allegations levelled at him, saying: “I have only recently been made aware of these allegations from over 20 years ago. I do not condone non-consensual sex of any kind. I will be taking some time to spend with my family and focus on maintaining my several years of sobriety.
“If I have caused anyone pain I apologise and truly regret it.”