One of the women who sued Marilyn Manson – real name Brian Warner – over sexual assault allegations has recanted her claims, saying that she was “manipulated” into making them by actor Evan Rachel Wood.In a new sworn statement presented to a New York court by Manson’s lawyers yesterday, Ashley Morgan Smithline says: “I succumbed to pressure from Evan Rachel Wood and her associates to make accusations of rape and assault against Mr Warner that were not true. Eventually, I started to believe that what I was repeatedly told happened to Ms Wood and [others] also happened to me”.Smithline claimed in a 2021 legal filing that the musician had violently assaulted her several times between 2010 and 2013 – allegations that he has always denied.In October, her lawyer Jay Ellwanger was granted permission to step down from the case and the court gave Smithline three months to appoint new representation or officially confirm that she would be representing herself.