A concert security guard has sued Marilyn Manson (real name: Brian Warner) on claims of battery and emotional distress. David M. Diaz, of Anoka County, Minn., claims that Warner grabbed his head, held it against his hips and “proceeded to gyrate his hips” at the Oct. 27, 2000, concert at the Historic Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis.
Diaz said he asked the 32-year-old bandleader to stop but he didn’t. Diaz said he was humiliated, degraded and “endured ridicule and shame.” He’s seeking more than $75,000 for emotional distress and other injuries.
Warner “doesn’t have the right to do that to other human beings, whether he considers himself more important or not than the rest of us,” Diaz’ attorney, James Kaster, said yesterday (Dec. 4). A spokesperson for the artist could not be immediately reached for comment.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Minneapolis, also names Marilyn Manson’s touring company, Jimmy’s Touring Inc.; and Vivendi Universal, which owns Universal Music Group and controls Nothing Records, to which Manson is signed.
The incident is nearly identical to a July run-in with a security guard that landed Warner in legal trouble with Michigan authorities. As with the latest case, the guard said Warner gyrated against the neck and head; Warner was subsequently charged with criminal sexual conduct and assault and battery. He pled not guilty to the charges at an arraignment in Clarkston, Mich., in late September.
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