Marilyn Manson ordered to pay Evan Rachel Wood's legal fees over dismissed defamation claims

Marilyn Manson has been ordered to pay almost $327,000 (£258,000) to cover his former fiancée Evan Rachel Wood's legal fees following the dismissal of his defamation claims.

The shock rocker, real name Brian Warner, sued the Westworld actress in March 2022, claiming Wood defamed him and derailed his career when she publicly accused him of abusing her during their relationship in February 2021.

The defamation and emotional distress claims were struck from his wide-ranging lawsuit last year, and Wood asked to be reimbursed the $388,000 (£306,000) in legal fees that she racked up defending herself against the now-dismissed allegations.

On Monday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Teresa A. Beaudet ordered the reimbursement, although she reduced the amount to just under $327,000.

Explaining the reduction, the judge agreed with Manson's lawyers' argument that the descriptions for some of Wood's billed hours were too "vague", according to Rolling Stone.

Manson's defamation and emotional distress claims were thrown out by the same judge last year after she ruled that the Thirteen actress was protected by the First Amendment or litigation privileges when she named the musician as her alleged abuser on Instagram.

Wood and her friend Illma Gore are due to stand trial on 1 May on other grounds. They are accused of conspiring to hack into Manson's computer, impersonate him online and make a phone call that sent police officers to his home.

After Wood went public with her allegations in 2021, several other women came forward with similar claims. In the lawsuit, he accused her and Gore of recruiting accusers to take part in a coordinated attack, but this allegation will not be presented to the jury.

Most of the abuse lawsuits against Manson have been settled, dismissed or dropped.

He has denied all of the allegations.