Zoltan Bathory praised Marilyn Manson’s sobriety ahead of his upcoming tour with Five Finger Death Punch, adding that the musician has been “doing the work.”
The artists are set to hit the road together later this year with Slaughter to Prevail, and it’ll mark Manson’s first tour since 2019. The musician has faced a series of abuse allegations since then, especially after his former fiancé, actress Evan Rachel Wood, publicly named him as her abuser in February of 2021.
Several other women came forward with accusations against the rocker afterward, which led to him being dropped by his record label, agency, manager and the television roles he had in the works.
Bathory Praises Manson’s Sobriety
Bathory discussed Five Finger Death Punch’s upcoming tour with Manson during a new interview on the Jesea Lee Show, the namesake podcast by the SiriusXM DJ.
“Manson hasn’t been out on the road for a while… A lot of people want to see him, so obviously that’s like — at one point he was one of the most iconic artists on planet Earth, so he’s back onstage, back in the saddle. So that’s gonna be amazing,” the guitarist enthused.
“He’s also sober and clean, so we’re always going to support that, obviously.”
Five Finger Death Punch’s Ivan Moody Has a History of Addiction
Bathory mentioned Five Finger Death Punch frontman Ivan Moody, who had his own issues with addiction in the past that nearly cost him his life. The vocalist has been sober for six years now, though, and Bathory praised Moody and called him “a different man.”
“Manson is sober, and he’s staying clean and doing the work, so we obviously support that. It’s gonna be an amazing tour,” he concluded.
Check out the full conversation below.
Zoltan Bathory Praises Marilyn Manson’s Sobriety Ahead of Tour With 5FDP
How Long Has Manson Been Sober?
Though Bathory touched a bit on Manson’s sobriety, it’s unclear how long he has actually been sober for. Manson has kept a low public profile since the allegations against him started (other than an onstage appearance with Kanye West in 2021) but in an interview in late 2020, he said he had given up absinthe, a type of liquor known for its hallucinogenic effects. He claimed to have also stopped taking painkillers.
READ MORE: 10 Rock Stars Who Got Sober… and Stayed Sober
“It’s just it clouds your brain,” he told Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe. “[That’s] why I stopped drinking absinthe, as well — it clouds the frontal lobe. A lot of people find it to be artistically enhancing, but it also it bends your brain a bit sometimes in a bad way. Where you are convinced that what you’re doing is really great when it’s just the drug telling you that.”
Manson Recently Completed Community Service at AA Program
Earlier this year, Manson completed mandated community service at an Alcoholics Anonymous program center after blowing his nose on a videographer in New Hampshire in 2019.
He spent 20 hours at the Windsor Club of Glendale in California, and the service was certified completed by the Assistance League of Los Angeles with a court in New Hampshire on Jan. 30 [via USA Today].
Timeline of Abuse Allegations Against Marilyn Manson
After actress Evan Rachel Wood accused Marilyn Manson of abuse in 2021, similar allegations by others against the rock singer also surfaced. Below is a timeline, starting with Wood’s 2018 testimony that disclosed her alleged abuse but didn’t yet name Manson. The musician, whose real name is Brian Warner, has denied the allegations. Several accusers subsequently sued him; he sued Wood in 2022.
Gallery Credit: Loudwire Staff
