Marilyn Manson, through his lawyer, pleaded not guilty Thursday to a pair of assault charges in New Hampshire.
The shock rocker, whose real name is Brian Warner, is accused of spitting and blowing his nose on videographer Susan Fountain at his August 2019 concert at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford.
Manson surrendered to police in Los Angeles in July after Gilford police issued a warrant for his arrest. He faces up to a year in jail and a $2,000 U.S. fine for each count.
According to an affidavit, Manson put his face up to Fountain’s camera and spit a “big lougee,” hitting her hands. He later covered one nostril and blew the other in her direction.
His lawyer previously said the charges are “ludicrous” and came only after Fountain demanded more than $35,000 U.S. “after a small amount of spit came into contact with their arm."
Manson is facing civil lawsuits from ex girlfriend Esmé Bianco and former assistant Ashley Walters alleging physical, psychological and sexual abuse. After his former fiancée Evan Rachel Wood went public with claims of abuse, Manson issued a statement in which he called the allegations “horrible distortions of reality” and insisted his “intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners.”