TRUE CRIME NEWSBilly Corgan Defends His Friendship With Marilyn Manson Despite Abuse Claims: 'I Personally Didn't Feel He Was Guilty'
Billy Corgan has spoken out in defense of his longtime friend Marilyn Manson.
Oct. 26 2026, Published 9:11 a.m. ET
Billy Corgan has faced backlash for maintaining his friendship with Marilyn Manson amid allegations of sexual assault and domestic violence against the controversial rocker. However, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman continues to stand by his longtime friend, whose real name is Brian Warner, insisting he is innocent of the accusations.
“As a Christian person, you have to stand by your friends, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have an opinion, and that doesn’t mean you’re not critical,” Corgan said in a recent interview. “I personally didn’t feel he was guilty of the things he was being charged with, and ultimately the fact that the D.A. didn’t pursue.”
Charges Were Dropped Due to Statute of Limitations
Marilyn Manson was dropped by his label and manager as a result of the allegations.
Multiple women, including Evan Rachel Wood and Esmé Bianco, accused Manson of domestic violence and sexual assault in 2021. After a four-year investigation, the Los Angeles District Attorney declined to file charges in 2025, citing the statute of limitations.
Manson’s manager and label dropped him during the scandal. Manson sued Wood for defamation in 2022, but ultimately dropped the lawsuit in 2024 and was ordered to pay Wood $327,000 in legal fees.
'I Don't Want the World to Tell Me Who My Friends Are'
Evan Rachel Wood and Marilyn Manson were together from 2007 to 2010.
Corgan and Manson have been friends since they were up-and-coming rockers in the 1990s.
“I don’t want the world to tell me who my friends are and who I should associate with,” Corgan declared.
He did admit that he struggled with the situation, but came to his own conclusions.
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'I Also Knew the Inside Baseball of the Case'
Marilyn Manson first rocketed to fame in the 1990s.
“Anyone in that situation struggles with the accusations, the seriousness of the accusations. But again, I also knew the inside baseball of the case,” Corgan explained. “I knew certain people who were involved. And so you make those evaluations.”
He condemned the scandal as a “kind of witch mob thing.”
“If he’s guilty or anybody in that situation is guilty, they should go to jail,” Corgan insisted. “I’m not saying I have any moral supremacy here. I’m saying it’s a case-by-case basis.”
'I Was Brainwashed and Manipulated Into Submission'
Billy Corgan says he believed Manson's innocence.
Manson maintained his innocence throughout the legal battle, calling the accusations “horrible distortions of reality.”
In her 2021 statement, Wood alleged Manson groomed and abused her. Their relationship went public in 2007 and ended in 2010.
“I was brainwashed and manipulated into submission,” she wrote. “I am done living in fear of retaliation, slander, or blackmail. I am here to expose this dangerous man and call out the many industries that have enabled him before he ruins any more lives. I stand with the many victims who will no longer be silent.”
