WHAT THEY SAID
"I don't want the world to tell me who my friends are and who I should associate with." ‡ Billy Corgan said that on the New York Times Popcast, published October 23, defending a friendship with Marilyn Manson that goes back close to 30 years *, ‡, §. He leaned on his Christian faith, saying you stand by your friends without losing the right to be critical *, ‡.
THE DETAILS
- Corgan said he personally didn't believe Manson was guilty, citing the DA's roughly five year review and private details never made public *, §.
- The LA District Attorney's Sex Crimes Division declined charges over statute of limitations issues ‡.
- He also said that if Manson or anyone in that situation is guilty, they should go to jail *, ‡, §.
- There's a family tie: Manson's wife Lindsay Usich is the twin sister of James Iha's wife Ashley *, ‡, §.
- Manson has a jury trial set for November 15, 2027 over Ashley Walters' claims, with Bianca Allaine Kyne's case pending ‡.
WHO IS RIGHT
Corgan gets to pick his own friends, but "I knew the inside baseball" * is not evidence, and a declination based on the statute of limitations is not an acquittal. Former Manson guitarist Wes Borland has said the allegations are true *, and two civil cases are still live, so Corgan is overselling a legal outcome that never actually tested the claims.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Manson is still booked to support Slipknot at Wembley in July 2027 despite an English politician asking the stadium to remove him, and that booking remains unresolved *, ‡.