Trent Reznor Says Passage from Marilyn Manson Was “Complete Fabrication” and Says He Cut Ties 25 Years Ago

Trent Reznor has called a passage from Marilyn Manson’s autobiography The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, was “complete fabrication” and stated that he cut ties with the performer “25 years ago.” Manson is the subject of several alleged sexual assault and alleged abuse cases, with one allegation coming from his former significant other and actress Evan Rachel Wood. He has also called these allegations “horrible distortions of reality.”

The passage was an alleged unpublished interview with Empyrean Magazine, a now-defunct publication. In these passages, Manson allegedly claims to have allegedly physically and allegedly sexually assaulted two women alongside Reznor. Manson was allegedly answering a question on how he met Reznor. The Long Hard Road Out of Hell alleges that this happened the night before Reznor revealed he wanted to sign Manson.

Manson’s camp chose not to publish the interview due to “content objections on the part of Empyrean’s publisher, Centaur Enterprises, which believed that the magazine had followed unethical interview procedures in order to extract information from Mr. Manson.”

Reznor’s criticism of Manson has continued for decades, with the performer telling Mojo in 2009: “He is a malicious guy and will step on anybody’s face to succeed and cross any line of decency. Seeing him now, drugs and alcohol now rule his life and he’s become a dopey clown.”

In 2017 Manson claimed to have “mended ways” with the performer, who alleges that Reznor reached out to him. Reznor denies this, implying he cut ties after 1996’s Antichrist Superstar, the last album he would produce for Manson, who would continue to be signed to Nothing Records until 2003.

“I have been vocal over the years about my dislike of Manson as a person and cut ties with him nearly 25 years ago,” Reznor said in a statement to Pitchfork. “As I said at the time, the passage from Manson’s memoir is a complete fabrication. I was infuriated and offended back when it came out and remain so today.”

Manson has been dropped by his agents and Loma Vista Recordings following Wood’s allegations.

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat