Evan Rachel Wood appears on the Thursday, March 17, edition of “The Drew Barrymore Show” to discuss “Phoenix Rising”, the Amy J. Berg-directed documentary in which she details the abuse she allegedly suffered at the hands of ex Marilyn Manson.
As Wood told host Drew Barrymore, it was her son who inspired her to go public.
“That was the catalyst, really,” she explained. “It was like, ‘How do I live with myself knowing I am the example for this young person if I can’t speak up for myself and for other people.’ Especially in a time such as this that we are living in, when these things are getting pushed to the surface and now is the time for truth and healing and having those hard conversations. And if I run away from this now, what do I tell my child. Be that person. If you have the platform and the privilege to help other people, dear God use it. And, I just felt I just had to do it.”
READ MORE: Evan Rachel Wood Spoke Out Against Marilyn Manson Because ‘It Was Time To Stop Being Silent’
When she began to speak out, she had no intention of telling her story in a documentary.
“When I first started speaking about my abuse I was still sort of in the midst of processing it,” she told Barrymore. “When I testified in front of Congress for another bill, for the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights, I thought that was going to be it. I thought that was going to be the only time I told my story. I thought I was going to leave it there, walk away, move on. And then I saw, after I testified, all of these stories popping up on the internet and when I saw that, it was like a bomb went off, and I can tell by the details in their stories that they knew things that nobody else knew. I knew they were telling the truth. And there was this amazing moment of liberation that I’m not crazy. The way this person gaslit me, any time I questioned them, any time I challenged them. The way they made me feel like I was so wrong and I was so unhinged and to see that I was right, like I can trust myself.
She also discussed her allegations that Manson raped her off-camera while filming his music video for “Heart Shaped Glasses”.
“When you are with your lover and you are making a music video and you are simulating sex, where do you draw that line, because it’s so confusing,” Wood asked.
“I knew that I was uncomfortable and something terrible was happening but it was that, ‘Oh God but if I say anything I am going to get in trouble. It’s going to hurt me. It’s going to hurt my career. I can never tell anybody this happened.’ And again, denial, denial. Just push it down, push it down and the ‘Heart Shaped Glasses’ video there’s no nudity contract that was drawn up. Normally when you do an explicit sex scene, it is talked about before: ‘This is what we are going to do. This is what we are going to show. This is what we are going to agree to. The footage will be destroyed afterwards.’ You sign a contract. That just didn’t exist because this wasn’t the plan. It wasn’t until the cameras were rolling that my clothes started being pulled off of me. But I do remember that day when things started happening very specifically having the thought, Wait, this isn’t a dream, this is really happening. Like, I felt like I was in a dreamlike state, I was so out of it.”
Manson has denied Woods’ allegations and has launched a defamation lawsuit against her over her claims in the documentary.
“The Drew Barrymore Show” airs weekdays at 3 p.m. ET on Global.
