Manson Cleared in Suit

Marilyn Manson was cleared Monday in a civil lawsuit filed by a Minnesota security guard who claims the shock rocker caused him emotional distress during a concert three years ago.

David Diaz filed a federal suit accusing Manson (real name Brian Warner) of battery, after Manson placed the guard's head against his crotch and gyrated during a concert at Minneapolis' Orpheum Theater in October 2000. Manson, who appeared in the courtroom last year, didn't deny his accuser's claims but said that they did not constitute battery. Diaz sought more than $75,000, but a twelve-member jury was unanimous in its decision.

"The path to truth is obscured by frivolous lawsuits, but it's lit by the objectivity of a jury that sees the difference between entertainment and assault," Manson said. "I feel completely vindicated, and I'd like to thank the jury and the judge for their thoughtful verdict."

The case was the second of its kind for Manson; he pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct charges last year for performing a similar act with a Michigan security guard in July 2001. He paid a $4,000 fine, with a civil case still pending.

Manson also said that he's excited to be returning to Minnesota in October as part of his tour behind The Golden Age of the Grotesque. The fifteen-date tour launches October 10th in Los Angeles.

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Song Stories

“I'm Yours”

Jason Mraz | 2008

Jason Mraz re-emerged after his disappointing second album with this lead single, a Jack Johnson-esque ditty about giving yourself fully to someone else. The success of the reggae-tinged song (it earned two Grammy nods and a spot on the Billboard singles chart for well over a year) was something the folk-pop singer never predicted when he wrote it in 15 minutes at home. "I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work without 50 different Bob Marley songs," he told Rolling Stone. "I thought, 'It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme,'" concluding that "you can never guess what's gonna be a hit."

More Song Stories entries »

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