After it was reported earlier this week that Marilyn Manson was once again working with Kanye West on the rapper’s forthcoming album ‘Donda 2’, the shock rocker has confirmed the ongoing collaboration.
- READ MORE: Mourners, merch and… Marilyn Manson: on the scene at Kanye West’s ‘DONDA’ event in Chicago
On Tuesday (February 1), West collaborator Digital Nas told Rolling Stone that Manson – real name Brian Hugh Warner – was “in there working on ‘Donda 2′” every time he had been to the studio.
“[West] has some producers from ‘Yeezus’ working on ‘Donda 2’ this time around, [as well as] Marilyn, me, [and] a bunch of producers from ‘Donda 1’,” Nas told the publication.
That came after Tim Skold, who has performed on multiple Marilyn Manson albums and toured as part of the band, last month shared a photo of himself in-studio on Instagram with the hashtags #marilynmanson, #kanyewest and #dondasplace.
Now, Warner himself has confirmed the news, with a representative telling Newsweek he is “continuing his creative collaboration with Ye”.
Warner previously featured on West’s ‘Donda’ track ‘Jail Pt 2’, and appeared alongside West at one of the rapper’s listening parties in Chicago last year.
At the time, West drew backlash for collaborating with Warner, who was accused of sexually and physically abusive behaviour by multiple women in 2021, and is currently facing four civil lawsuits on sexual assault charges. Warner has denied all allegations.
In February of last year, Warner’s former partner Evan Rachel Wood alleged she had been “horrifically abused” by the musician. Most recently, Wood claimed she was “essentially raped on camera” by Warner while filming the music video for his 2007 track ‘Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand)’. In a statement to NME, Warner’s lawyer called Wood’s accusation “an imaginative retelling”.
After Wood’s allegations against Warner last year, several other women came forward with their own allegations against the musician. Among them were Game of Thrones actor Esme Bianco – who is suing Manson for alleged sexual assault, physical abuse and human trafficking.
His former assistant Ashley Walters is suing him for alleged sexual assault, battery and harassment, and model Ashley Morgan Smithline is suing Manson for alleged sexual assault, sexual battery and unlawful imprisonment, among other charges.
Manson has claimed his accusers are “cynically and dishonestly seeking to monetize and exploit the #MeToo movement” by launching a “co-ordinated attack” against him. In documents filed in July, he labelled the women “co-conspirators” who are “desperately trying to conflate” Manson’s stage persona with “fabricated accounts of abuse”.
In September of last year, one of the lawsuits was dismissed after Warner’s lawyers argued the woman’s complaint fell outside the statute of limitations. However, the judge in the case gave the plaintiff 20 days to refile the suit with additional details, which she did.
When speaking to Rolling Stone earlier this week, Digital Nas put West’s continued involvement with Warner down to “coming from a standpoint of like, ‘We all make mistakes.'”
Back in November, West defended collaborating with Warner and DaBaby, who was dropped from several festival lineups last year after making homophobic comments onstage during a performance at Rolling Loud in Miami.
“When I sit next to Marilyn Manson and DaBaby right after both of them got cancelled, for five songs, you know, it’s like they can’t cancel us all,” the rapper said while appearing on the Drink Champs podcast. “They’ll hit you with the accusations of somebody who you was with 10 years ago.”
West is set to release ‘Donda 2’, which is being executive produced by Atlanta rapper Future, on February 22.
The post Marilyn Manson confirms he’s working on Kanye West’s ‘Donda 2’ appeared first on NME.
