OAN’s Brooke Mallory
11:23 PM – Tuesday, September 19, 2023
After entering a no-contest plea to intentionally blowing his nose on a videographer during a 2019 performance in New Hampshire, Marilyn Manson was given 20 hours of community service and a fine on Monday.
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The 54-year-old controversial rocker requested to attend by video for his misdemeanor charge hearing, but the judge insisted that he appear in person in the courtroom in Laconia, which is located approximately 30 miles north of Concord, the state capital.
On August 19th, 2019, Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, had a run-in and exchanged dialogue with a videographer at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford. Manson was subsequently charged with two misdemeanor charges of simple assault.
In a prepared plea deal with the prosecution, Manson entered a no-contest plea to the charge of “nose blowing.” The other accusation, a claim that he spit on the videographer, was dropped by prosecutors.
Since Manson entered a no-contest plea, it means that he is not challenging the case, but he is also not admitting guilt.
As part of the agreement, Manson received a fine of a little over $1,400, with $200 suspended. For two years, he must avoid arrest and inform local police of any musical performances in New Hampshire.
The judge described his actions as “egregious,” but the court still allowed Manson to take care of his community service in California. The musician told reporters that he could assist others who are seeking treatment for addiction recovery. However, he must provide documentation of his volunteer work by February 4th.
In the stage pit area of the event, Manson allegedly approached videographer Susan Fountain, put his face near her camera, and spat a “big lougee” at her. Her hands received saliva on both sides. Later, he walked up to her again, kneeling and covering one nostril before blowing on her hands and arms.
In the captured footage, Manson “blows a significant amount of mucous at Fountain,” according to an unnamed police sergeant who watched the concert security video. The camera angle then shows Manson “point and laugh at Fountain as she gets down and walks away,” the affidavit claims.
Although Fountain was not present in court, her statement was read aloud.
“For me, I’m a professional person and I’ve been in this industry for 30 years. I’ve worked for a lot of companies, and in all the years I’ve worked with people, I’ve never been humiliated or treated the way I was by this defendant,” it read. “For him to spit on me and blow his nose on me was the most disgusting thing a human being has ever done… I understand this was not a big criminal charge to begin with, but I was hoping that the defendant would receive a sentence that would make him think twice before doing something like this again,” the statement concluded.
In 2021, Manson entered his initial not-guilty plea to both accusations. August was the month set for his trial.
His counsel tried to argue that the type of video recording Fountain had been engaging in frequently puts videographers in “incidental contact” with human fluids.
“The defendant’s performance for the past twenty years are well known to include shocking and evocative antics similar to those that occurred here,” attorney Kent Barker said. “The alleged victim consented to exposing herself to potential contact with sweat, saliva and phlegm in close quarters.”
Additionally, Barker stated that Manson intended to claim that “any contact related to spitting or sneezing” was an accident.
A conviction on each count would have resulted in a sentence of less than a year in prison and a fine of $2,000 if Manson had gone to trial.
In recent years, a number of women have filed lawsuits against Manson, alleging sexual and other forms of abuse. Most of them, including a lawsuit brought by “Game of Thrones” actress Esme Bianco, have been dropped or settled.
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