Phoebe Bridgers has spoken about the music industry’s response to the allegations made against Marilyn Manson, calling it “performative activism”.
Manson has been accused of sexual abuse, grooming and manipulation by several women, including actor and his ex-fiancé Evan Rachel Wood. The musician has denied the claims, saying: “My intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners. Regardless of how – and why – others are now choosing to misrepresent the past, that is the truth.”
Bridgers tweeted about her own experiences with Manson last week, claiming she had visited his house as a teenager and heard him refer to one room as a “rape room”. Manson has not responded to her claims.
Now, in a new interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, the singer-songwriter has spoken out about the industry’s response to the allegations. Since the claims were made public on February 1, Manson has been dropped by his label Loma Vista, his long-time manager Tony Ciulla, booking agency CAA and removed from his TV projects.
“I think it’s very funny that Marilyn Manson’s label decided to drop him right when the story went public, and people have just known about it for so long,” she said. “I find that very annoying. I think it’s a lot of performative activism, basically.
“I think people should take more responsibility internally. It doesn’t matter how many people know about it. You should look into things like you’re the FBI. But when people make people money, I know, it’s really hard to walk away from that – but more people should.”
In the same interview, Bridgers also discussed smashing her guitar on SNL last weekend (February 6). “People have done it but I think that’s kind of the point,” she said after Amanpour pointed out few women are known for smashing their instruments on stage.
“People are saying it’s derived and corny – well yeah, it’s derived and corny after the first time somebody did it. That’s the whole point.”
