The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2021–2025
Loma Vista dropped Marilyn Manson the day allegations broke — CAA followed next day
The label and the agency both cut Marilyn Manson within 24 hours of Evan Rachel Wood's allegations — four years later, the DA declined to charge.
Loma Vista Recordings · CAA · Marilyn Manson (musician) · 2021-02
What happened
On February 1, 2021, Evan Rachel Wood posted on Instagram that Marilyn Manson "started grooming me when I was a teenager and horrifically abused me for years," allegations the BBC reported the same day. Within hours, Loma Vista Recordings — the label that had released his albums since 2015 — issued a statement: "In light of today's allegations by Evan Rachel Wood and other women naming Marilyn Manson as their abuser, Loma Vista will cease to further work out of our label with Marilyn Manson effective immediately."
The next day, February 2, his agency CAA dropped him as a client. His music remained on streaming services and his catalog stayed in print, but the two institutional relationships that had carried his career — the label and the agency — ended within 48 hours of the allegations being published.
Four years later, the legal system had not confirmed the story. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office announced on January 24, 2025 that it would not charge Manson after a years-long investigation into the allegations, citing expiration of the statute of limitations and insufficient evidence. Manson had sued Wood for defamation in March 2024; he withdrew the lawsuit in November 2024 and agreed to pay $327,251 toward her legal fees.
Neither Loma Vista nor CAA reversed its decision after the DA declined to charge. The label never resumed working with him, and the case became a reference point for how fast the music industry severed ties in 2021 — and for how permanently, even when no charges ever followed.
Why it happened
- The label moved the same day the allegations were published — a statement issued within hours, with no investigation of its own.
- The agency followed within 24 hours; when the label cut him, the market had already decided, and keeping a client no one would work with costs more than dropping him.
- Unlike film and TV, where his roles had already been shrinking, the record contract was an active relationship — the label had to end it, not just decline to extend it.
The lesson
When the artist is the product, institutions decide within hours — the label and agency that stood by him for years cut him in a day, and no charges ever followed.
Aftermath
The DA's no-charges decision in January 2025 did not bring the contracts back. Wood's allegations were never tested in court: Manson dropped his defamation suit in November 2024 and paid $327,251 of her legal fees. His catalog remained on streaming services throughout, and the severed relationships stayed severed.
Sources
- The Hollywood Reporter — Marilyn Manson Dropped From Record Label After Evan Rachel Wood Abuse Claims, 1 Feb 2021 (Loma Vista statement verbatim)
- Variety — Marilyn Manson Dropped by CAA Following Abuse Allegations, 2 Feb 2021
- BBC News — Evan Rachel Wood accuses Marilyn Manson of abuse, 2 Feb 2021 (the allegations as reported)
- NBC News — Marilyn Manson won't be charged in LA County investigation, 24 Jan 2025 (DA no-charges decision)
- The Guardian — Marilyn Manson drops Evan Rachel Wood defamation lawsuit and pays $327,000, 26 Nov 2024
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