Survivors in the News - Week of May 8, 2023

TW: Sexual assault

PAVE stands with survivors speaking their truth and working to hold their abusers accountable, especially in a society in which survivors are often met with injustice. The following news stories highlight the recent victories of survivors E. Jean Carroll and Evan Rachel Wood.

E. Jean Carroll Wins Lawsuit Against Donald Trump, Finding Trump Liable for Sexual Abuse and Defamation

E. Jean Carroll is an author, journalist, and former advice columnist for Elle magazine. In 2019, Caroll published an excerpt from her memoir, "What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal," which accused former president Donald Trump of raping her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s (Stempel, 2023). In the excerpt, Carroll shared that she was shopping at Bergdorf-Goodman in New York when Trump approached her (Feinberg, 2023). He then took Carroll to the lingerie section of the store and asked her to try on an item for him before pinning her against a wall and sexually assaulting her for three minutes.

Although the incident took place decades prior, Carroll shared that the emergence of the #MeToo movement motivated her to speak her truth (Feinberg, 2023).

Shortly after, Trump denied Carroll’s accusations, stating, "I'll say it with great respect: Number one, she's not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" In response, Carroll sued Trump for defamation (Stempel, 2023).

In 2022, Carroll planned to sue Trump once again for battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress, under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which gives adults a one-year window to sue their perpetrators, even if statutes of limitations have expired. Trump continued to deny Carroll’s claims, publicly stating that the "Ms. Bergdorf Goodman case" is a "complete con job," a "hoax," a "lie" and a "complete Scam," and says he had not known Carroll and that she was "not my type!" The denial persisted through his deposition for Carroll’s first lawsuit, during which he called Carroll mentally ill (Stempel, 2023).

On November 24, 2022, Carroll filed her second lawsuit, accusing Trump of battery and further defamation. In early 2023, Trump asked U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan to exclude from trial a 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape of him making graphic, vulgar comments about women as well as testimony from two other alleged victims; Kaplan denied his request. Additionally, Kaplan denied Trump’s request to discard Carroll’s second defamation claim (Stempel, 2023).

Trial proceedings began on April 25, 2023, with closing arguments beginning on May 8—Trump was not in attendance. Kaplan ordered that jurors remain anonymous due to threats that Trump supporters and others may harass them (Feinberg, 2023).

On May 9, after three hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict that Trump was liable for sexual abuse and defamation, but not rape. Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages (Feinberg, 2023).

Evan Rachel Wood’s Truth Prevails as Marilyn Manson’s Lawsuit Dwindles

Evan Rachel Wood is an actress, singer, and activist. In 2020, HBO Max released Phoenix Rising, a two-part documentary on Wood’s story of domestic and sexual abuse by musician Marilyn Manson (Horton, 2022). The two met when Wood was 18, while Manson was 37. Wood was in cycles of abuse with Manson for four years. He drugged, manipulated, and coerced her on the set of his 2007 music video “Heart Shaped Glasses.” He controlled her eating, slipped her sleeping pills then raped her in her sleep, tortured her with an electric shocking device, beat her with a “Nazi whip from the Holocaust” while she was tied to a wheeler, and often drugged her.

Over the years, several women have sued Manson for similar allegations, including Game of Thrones actor Esme Bianco (Dalton, 2023). Additionally, in February 2021, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s Special Victims Bureau began investigating multiple abuse allegations against Manson which occurred between 2009 and 2011 (Patten, 2023).

In 2022, Manson filed a lawsuit, alleging that Wood and defendant Ilma Gore defamed Manson, intentionally caused him emotional distress, and derailed his entertainment career. Further, the lawsuit claims that Wood and Gore used false pretenses, including a phony letter from the FBI, to convince others to come forward with allegations against Manson Dalton, 2023).

Teresa A. Beaudet, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge, dismissed two large sections of the suit, one dealing with the disputed FBI letter and another regarding a checklist used to make abuse claims; Beaudet cited that the evidence was “hypothetical” and “thin” (Dalton, 2023).

Note: PAVE stands with all survivors in the entertainment industry.

Dalton, A. (2023, May 10). Marilyn Manson lawsuit against ex Evan Rachel Wood gutted. AP News.

Feinberg, A. (2023, May 10). What to know about Trump vs E Jean Carroll case verdict. The Independent.

Horton, A. (2022, March 18). Evan Rachel Wood's Marilyn Manson doc shows the messy

timeline of healing | Adrian Horton. The Guardian.

Patten, D. (2023, May 9). Marilyn Manson Loses Again In Court Battle With Evan Rachel Wood. Deadline.

Stempel, J. (2023, April 25). TIMELINE-Main events in E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit accusing Donald Trump of rape. Yahoo Finance.