Kanye West once again chose to align himself with Marilyn Manson, bringing the shock rocker out on stage during his Donda 2 listening event at LoanDepot Park in Miami on Tuesday night.
It seems like a blatant move on West’s behalf to drum up some controversy—aka headlines—for the event, as he was rightly admonished for featuring Manson on previous album Donda’s “Jail Pt. 2” over the summer, willfully ignoring that he’d been hit with a barrage of serious accusations of abuse last February.
The singer’s former partners, including actress Evan Rachel Wood and Game of Thrones’ Esme Bianco, accused Manson of rape, sexual assault, torture, physical violence, and emotional abuse. And after at least four women came forward, Manson’s former assistants and industry peers either backed up their claims, or alleged they were also subjected to some of the same abuses. (Manson has continually denied the allegations; he is currently under investigation for the alleged abuses, and is facing four civil lawsuits.)
ADVERTISEMENT
After the allegations, Manson was promptly dropped by his record and largely retreated from public view, seemingly hoping to ride out the media storm. That was until West decided to tap him for a feature on Donda—an album named after West’s late beloved mother, Dr. Donda West, who died after a botched cosmetic surgery in 2007. West has also brought along Manson, who had previously been welcomed into the arms of the Church of Satan, to his Sunday Services and featured him at his Donda listening event in Chicago.
But for Tuesday’s concert, which was delayed by nearly two hours, there was no immediate need for West to invite Manson or rapper DaBaby out—who was caught up in his own controversy for going on a homophobic rant over the summer—since their song “Jail Pt. 2” isn’t even featured on Donda 2.
West is a proud supporter of Donald Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by over 2o women, and has himself been a vocal critic of the #MeToo movement, saying of the allegations against Manson on a recent podcast, “They’ll hit you with the accusations or somebody who you was with 10 years ago. And also, there’s women who’ve been through very serious things, pulled in alleys against they will—that’s different than a hug, but it’s classified as the same thing. It’s power and politics. You know, power-hungry maniacs and just control. This is 1984 mind-control we’re in.”
Neither Manson or DaBaby performed live; rather, they both stood aimlessly in a puddle of water in front of the stage’s burnt-out church, as their song blared out over the stadium speakers.
