Sharon Osbourne has publicly defended Marilyn Manson amid the sexual assault allegations made against the musician, saying she does not believe “half of it” and describing Manson as a friend who “always will be”.
Speaking on The Osbournes Podcast, Osbourne discussed the accusations against Manson before offering her own view of the musician and the controversy surrounding him (per Lamb Goat).
“Manson is a great artist. I don’t care what anybody says and now I’ll get all these complaints, ‘He abuses women.’ Well, women abuse men. And you know what the thing that gets me is? Did Marilyn ever try and be light and breezy, and you know a surfer guy? No. You know what you were getting yourself into.”
Osbourne continued:
“You’re begging to get on somebody’s tour bus. You’re begging to get near them and be photographed. And then you know what? What did you expect? And the thing is, I don’t think that he did what they said. You know what I feel about Marilyn. He’s a friend and always will be. And I don’t believe half of it.”
The Osbournes Podcast
During the conversation with her son Jack Osbourne, Sharon also made a claim about witnessing a sexual encounter involving Manson and one person she said later took legal action against him.
“I can tell you one of the people that was suing him — major part of it — we were sat Soho House one night, and she went on the floor under the table and gave him a blowjob. He never asked for it, she just did it.”
That anecdote represents Osbourne’s account of a separate encounter and does not itself establish what occurred in relation to any of the allegations against Manson.
Manson has faced multiple allegations of sexual assault and abuse in recent years, which he has denied, some legal actions have been dismissed, withdrawn or settled, while other litigation has continued.
Osbourne’s comments amount to one of the more outspoken public defences of Manson from a major figure within the rock world.
The pair have a long history. Manson previously toured as part of Ozzfest and remained connected to the Osbourne camp over the following decades.
Whatever Osbourne’s personal experiences with Manson may have been, however, her comments represent her own assessment of the allegations rather than a determination of their truth.
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