A senior British politician has called for a controversial Marilyn Manson concert in her city to be cancelled amid allegations of sexual assault by the singer.
Manson – whose real name is Brian Warner – is set to kickstart the UK leg of his new tour at the Brighton Centre in October. But the concert has become a topic of debate, with campaigners urging Brighton and Hove city council, which owns the venue, to cancel the performance.
Now, the MP Siân Berry has expressed concerns in an open letter to the local council leader, arguing the concert goes against “the city’s well-renowned values”, the Argus reported.
Manson, 56, has repeatedly denied all the allegations and called them “provably false”. In January, California prosecutors said they would not file charges against Manson after a years-long investigation of sexual assault and domestic violence allegations.
Berry, a Green MP and former leader of the party in England and Wales, highlighted multiple policies she felt the event went against.
These include the city plan, which states there is “no place in our city for fear of crime, violence, or abuse”. She said the concert’s age restrictions would allow children as young as 14 to attend.
“Many survivors in Brighton and Hove, and organisations supporting them, will have serious concerns about this booking and its wider impact on other people visiting the city centre, local residents and the wider community,” Berry wrote in the letter to the council leader, Bella Sankey, which was co-signed by a host of groups and the University of Sussex students’ union.
She said freedom of expression was an important principle that should be defended, including in relation to artists, “but there is an obvious risk to community cohesion and the council has separate equalities obligations to foster good relations between people who share protected characteristics and people who do not share them”.
She added: “The council has a responsibility to take action where there are risks of discrimination, harassment and victimisation.”
Berry wrote that “the level and nature” of the accusations against Manson were “concerning” enough, “but so too is the message sent out by providing a platform for this individual, at our city’s biggest publicly owned venue, and what this will mean to survivors”.
In January, US prosecutors said the allegations against Manson exceeded the statute of limitations and that they could not prove charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
The identities of the women police and prosecutors spoke with were not revealed, but the Game of Thrones actor Esmé Bianco – who sued Manson in a case that now has been settled – said she was part of the criminal investigation.
In her lawsuit, Bianco alleged sexual, physical and emotional abuse, and said Manson violated human trafficking law by bringing her to California from England for nonexistent roles in music videos and movies.
In 2021, Manson’s former fiancee, the Westworld actor Evan Rachel Wood, also named him as her abuser for the first time in an Instagram post.
• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
