Did you know that a rumor destroyed Trent Reznor and Marilyn Manson‘s friendship?
The pair had a unique relationship that started in 1989 when Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, interviewed Reznor about his band Nine Inch Nails for a publication in Florida. Eventually, Manson’s own band, called Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids at the time, opened for Nine Inch Nails at a small club.
After Manson’s band had a failed deal with Sony Music in the early ’90s, Reznor gave them a place at his own label, Nothing Records. He also produced their first few releases — Portrait of an American Family (1994), the EP Smells Like Children (1995) and ’96’s Antichrist Superstar.
It seemed like they had a good thing going, but the creative process for Antichrist Superstar put pressure on their working relationship.
Then, in 1998, Manson’s book The Long Road Out of Hell was released, and it contained a rumor about Reznor that he’s denied on more than one occasion. He distanced himself from Manson as a result.
The duo worked together again briefly in the year 2000, but then grew apart once more. Reznor made a couple of comments about their friendship in the press later in the decade, saying that Manson had turned into a “dopey clown.”
Manson revealed several years later that he was angry at Reznor for a long time because he thought he destroyed the Antichrist Superstar masters, but discovered that Reznor still had them after they reconnected and had a conversation.
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When actress Evan Rachel Wood, who’d been in a relationship with Manson for several years in the late 2000s, ousted the musician as her abuser in early 2021, Reznor once again condemned the shock rocker and denounced their friendship.
In our latest Behind the Feud episode, we explore the friendship between Reznor and Manson,and dissect the various events that ultimately ruined it. Watch it below.