News•September 19, 2023 11:13 AM ET•4,647 views

Marilyn Manson fined and ordered to community service for 2019 spitting incident

Marilyn Manson was recently called to appear in a New Hampshire court to deal with charges stemming from a 2019 incident and today, September 18, pleaded no contest to those charges according to local news station WMUR 9. The incident occurred during one of Manson's concerts in Gilford, NH, where he allegedly spat on a videographer and blew his nose on her.

Belknap County Attorney Andrew Livernois explained:

"During that song, at one point, he approached the camera, looked into the lens and spit at the camera and struck the camera operator with saliva. He approached the camera again, and this time, he expelled matter from his nose at the camera, striking the woman again this time."

Manson, whose real name is Brian Hugh Warner, initially faced two misdemeanor charges of simple assault. However, he accepted a plea deal in which he pleaded no contest to one charge, leading to the dismissal of the other. As part of the deal, Manson has been ordered to pay a $1,200 fine and complete 20 hours of community service within six months. Additionally, he must inform local authorities if he plans to perform in New Hampshire over the next two years.

During the court proceedings, a victim-impact statement was read on behalf of the videographer. The statement described the defendant's actions as "the most disgusting thing a human being has ever done" and expressed a hope that Manson would learn from the sentence and avoid similar behavior in the future.

The statement read:

"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 like I was by this defendant. 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."

When asked about his plans for community service, Manson mentioned a willingness to work with individuals in recovery but did not address questions about offering an apology or contacting the videographer directly.

Manson will be allowed to fulfill his community service obligations in California, where he resides.