Marilyn Manson Accuser Seeks Revival of Claims Based on New California Law

Former Marilyn Manson assistant Ashley Walters is turning to a new California law that took effect Jan. 1 to try to revive her sexual abuse lawsuit against the rocker, which a judge rejected in a summary judgment ruling last month.

The development comes after Manson, born Brian Warner, declared a major victory when the Los Angeles judge dismissed Walters’ complaint on Dec. 16. Rejecting Walters’ argument that she qualified for extra time because her alleged trauma repressed her memories, Judge Steve Cochran found that Walters’ claims dating back to 2010 were simply too old to pursue.

In her new court filings obtained by Rolling Stone, Walters argues that California’s fledgling statute known as AB 250 applies to her dismissed lawsuit and revives it. In a seven-page motion, she and her lawyers ask Cochran to either vacate his summary judgment ruling or allow them to amend their lawsuit to reflect the new law. They contend AB 250 applies to any action that was pending as of Jan. 1, 2026. Although summary judgment was granted in 2025, they argue no final judgment has yet been entered and note that Warner’s lawyers did not give notice of their intent to file a proposed order of dismissal until Jan. 5. They also would have no choice but to appeal an adverse ruling, they say, and boldly proclaim they expect a higher court to side with them.

“Appealing the court’s ruling would require plaintiff and all parties to expend significant resources, only to have this appeal likely granted and this case before this same court in this same posture,” they write. “For judicial efficiency, this court should grant plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration or Leave to Amend now, rather than force all parties to expend significant resources on appeal and come back to the same place in this litigation.”

The showdown could be one of the first high-profile tests of the new law, which was enacted to help close what many considered a loophole in a predecessor law, AB 2777. For the first time, AB 250 opens a fully retroactive two-year filing window in California for any otherwise time-barred claim of adult sexual abuse against an individual perpetrator defendant. Unlike AB 2777, the new statute allows lawsuits against individuals without the need to prove a cover-up or add an entity defendant. (Claims against businesses still require evidence of a cover-up. Public entities such as schools and law enforcement agencies remain off limits.)

In her lawsuit, which was first filed in 2021, Walters claimed that Warner lured her into a job in 2010 by complimenting her photography and offering an artistic collaboration. She said Warner later subjected her to extreme mental and sexual abuse. She claimed he whipped her, threw plates at her, pinned her down on his bed, tried to kiss her, bit her ear, forced her hand into his underwear, forced her to stand on a chair for 12 hours straight, and threw her into a wall “during one of [his] drug-induced rages.”

In lengthy filings, Walters further alleged that in December 2010, she witnessed Warner throw a prop skull at his former fiancée, Evan Rachel Wood, “so hard” that it allegedly left “a large, raised welt on her stomach.” She also claimed she would sneak food and drinks to Warner’s “starving and distraught” girlfriends while they hid in a guest bathroom. Warner denied the allegations.

A prior judge dismissed Walters’ lawsuit based on an earlier challenge back in May 2022, but Walters won an appeal in 2023, allowing the case to resume. It was proceeding toward a trial previously set for this month when the summary judgment motion was granted in Warner’s favor.  

“Ashley Walters’ meritless claim has now been dismissed twice. We are confident that her motion to reconsider the most recent dismissal based on a new and inapplicable statute will fail,” Warner’s lawyer Howard King tells Rolling Stone. For their part, Walters’ lawyers at Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai said they believe AB 250 was passed for people like their client and that they didn’t waive anything.

“This law did not become effective until Jan. 1, 2026, and could not have been raised prior to its effective date. This is a ridiculous argument, and just another tactic by Mr. Warner to skirt accountability,” the lawyers tell Rolling Stone. “Ms. Walters has waited far too long to hold her abuser accountable, and outdated statute of limitations arguments will no longer protect him. We are grateful that the judge granted our request today to set a hearing on this issue. We are optimistic that her case will go forward and she will get the justice she rightfully deserves”

Walters first stepped forward in February 2021 as multiple women, including Wood, accused Warner of physical and emotional abuse. Rolling Stone conducted a lengthy investigation in 2021, speaking with more than 55 sources about the allegations. Warner, 57, reached out-of-court settlements with several of his accusers, including actress Esmé Bianco. He previously decided to abandon claims of defamation and harassment that he filed against Wood.