Billy Corgan has steadfastly defended his long-standing friendship with Marilyn Manson, expressing his personal belief that the musician was not guilty of the sexual and domestic abuse allegations leveled against him.
As the decades-long friendship between Billy Corgan and Marilyn Manson attests, they first shared the stage together during the 2015 co-headlining End Times Tour.
In a 2015 interview with Loudwire, Manson revealed how Corgan gifted him his inaugural instrument and taught him to play. The two also discussed their shared musical influences and mutual affection for felines before a brief rift occurred when Corgan wrote Manson a letter urging caution regarding Rose McGowan. The friendship was subsequently restored in 2014 when Manson joined the Smashing Pumpkins on stage in London.
More recently, Corgan attended Marilyn Manson’s 56th birthday celebration last year alongside various celebrities, including James Iha, Ronnie Radke, and John 5.
Now, following a wave of allegations of sexual and domestic abuse against Manson—real name Brian Warner, who has veiledly denied them—Corgan has again defended their enduring friendship and shared his views on the accusations.
“I think that ultimately, as a person of faith, you have to stand by your friends,” he stated on The New York Times‘s Popcast podcast. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t form opinions, and it certainly doesn’t mean you aren’t critical.”
“In his case, and I’m not here to judge it, the district attorney investigated for five years. In certain situations, I possessed private knowledge from behind closed doors that isn’t known publicly,” he added. “I personally didn’t feel he was guilty of the charges pressed against him, and ultimately, the fact that the DA did not pursue charges.”
Continuing, Corgan noted: “I wasn’t there, and I can’t be present for everything. However, it is one of those instances where I refuse to allow the world to dictate my friendships. It is socially, politically, and particularly in Brian’s case, a relationship spanning nearly three decades.”
Corgan also disclosed that he knew Manson’s parents. Additionally, because Manson’s wife shares a twin sister who is wed to guitarist James Iha, Corgan considers him “basically part of our family.”
“I think anyone in such a situation contends with the gravity of the accusations, but I also understood the complexities of the case. I was aware of the key figures involved, which required me to make my own assessment.”
“At the end of the day, I feel I made the right determination, but when people would ask me privately, ‘Well, what happens if…’, I’d say, ‘If he’s guilty, or anybody in that situation is guilty, they should go to jail.’”
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Wood subsequently detailed her allegations in the 2022 documentary Phoenix Rising. Warner initiated legal action against Wood and artist Illma Gore, settling the defamation lawsuit in November 2024 by paying nearly $327,000 (£244,000) in legal fees.
In January 2025, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office confirmed that Warner would not face criminal charges following a four-year investigation into allegations of sexual assault and domestic violence. The decision hinged on the domestic violence claims falling outside the statute of limitations, and prosecutors being unable to prove sexual assault charges ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’.
Nevertheless, a separate civil suit by Warner’s former assistant Ashley Walters was revived earlier this month under a new California legislation. Walters initially filed the lawsuit in 2021, alleging sexual assault, sexual battery, sexual harassment, and other abuse during her tenure working for Warner between 2010 and 2011. The suit had previously been dismissed in December 2025 due to the statute of limitations, but Assembly Bill 250 extended the window, allowing it to proceed anew. Warner has similarly denied Walters’ allegations, mirroring his denial of the other accusations.
Game of Thrones actor Esmé Bianco previously brought a distinct lawsuit alleging sexual assault, physical abuse, and human trafficking. Warner denied these claims, and the two resolved their dispute through an out-of-court settlement in 2023.