Just three weeks ago, a purported Marilyn Manson video — allegedly directed by Eli Roth and featuring Lana Del Rey acting out a rape scene — hit the Internet.
As quickly as it made the rounds, it was pulled down, and Manson’s camp issued a statement denying they had anything to do with the clip: “Manson did not direct this, shoot it, nor was it for a Marilyn Manson video or outtake footage made by him or to be used by him with his music.”
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Lana Del Rey Gets Abused in NSFW Leaked Footage
Now, Manson himself is speaking out on the NSFW, controversial footage, helping to clear up the situation — sort of.
“It wasn’t a Marilyn Manson video. The editor of the company that put it out was somebody who’s edited my videos, that video was something that was done with a camera that Eli [Roth], who’s my friend, and I both wanted to test out, so I let him test it out,” Manson told NME.
Manson said the LDR footage was edited with Manson outtakes, creating the illusion that it was an unreleased Manson/Roth/Del Rey clip.
All clear? Not really. A collaborative video between the moody singer-songwriter and the shock rocker nearly did happen.
“Eli and I wanted to do a music video with her, but she was being such a problem,” Manson said. “Although I still respect her, I’m friends with her. I just left, I was tired, I was not willing to make that part of the video. Eli and I originally had intentions of making a video with her, but that is not the intention that is represented in that film clip because that is not what I filmed, not for my video.”
Still, some questions remain unanswered. Did Roth — or someone on his team — direct the controversial rape footage? If not, what was it filmed for?
And what of the footage Roth did film featuring Lana for Marilyn? A year prior to the leaked video, Roth told Larry King in no uncertain terms he filmed footage with Manson and Del Rey: “The footage is so sick, it’s been locked in a vault for over a year.”
We may never know what the deal is with that footage, but one thing is for certain: No one wants to be associated with it.