Slipknot Fans Threaten Boycott Over Marilyn Manson Support Slot on New World Tour

Heavy metal giants Slipknot have unveiled plans for a new world tour, but the announcement has been overshadowed by a fierce backlash from sections of their fanbase over the choice of Marilyn Manson as a support act.

The eight-member band, famed for their elaborate masks and aggressive stage shows, confirmed that the US rock musician will join them at London's Wembley Stadium as well as on several dates during the South American leg of the trek.

The news was shared via an Instagram post that laid out the full line-up for the London concerts, which also features metalcore outfit Hatebreed. Almost immediately, the comments section became a battleground between excited supporters and those angered by Manson's involvement.

Thousands of replies flooded the post. While some fans celebrated the pairing, a significant number voiced their dismay, with many describing the announcement as "disappointing" and vowing to stay away from the shows altogether.

Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, has faced a series of sexual abuse accusations over the past several years. The 57-year-old has consistently and strongly denied any wrongdoing. Those allegations were central to the anger expressed online by fans who said they would refuse to purchase tickets in protest.

One commenter wrote that they would have loved to attend but could not stomach the idea of their money ending up in Manson's pockets. Another simply called the news "such a disappointment" and confirmed they would not be going.

The strength of the reaction reflects a growing willingness among music audiences to hold artists and promoters accountable over allegations of abuse, particularly when those accusations remain a matter of public debate. For a band like Slipknot, whose fanbase has long prided itself on a sense of community and loyalty, the decision to platform Manson appears to have struck a nerve.

The criticism was far from universal, however. Several fans pushed back against the boycott calls, arguing that the two acts share a huge overlapping audience and that Manson was, in their view, a natural and fitting choice to warm up the crowd. That defence highlights how divided the community has become over the issue.

Manson found himself at the centre of a public firestorm in 2021 when actress Evan Rachel Wood, who had been in a relationship with him for roughly three years from 2007, went public with allegations that he had "horrifically abused" and "manipulated" her. Wood said she chose to speak out in order to warn others about what she described as a dangerous man.

The musician responded at the time by characterising the claims as "horrible distortions of reality," insisting that his intimate relationships had always been entirely consensual. In the period that followed, a number of other women came forward on social media with similar accounts accusing him of abuse.

Wood later appeared in a 2022 documentary series titled Phoenix Rising, which centred on her allegations against Manson and brought the case to a wider audience. The singer subsequently launched a defamation lawsuit against Wood and another woman, accusing them of impersonating FBI agents and forging federal documents.

A judge dismissed some of the claims brought by Manson, and the legal battle was eventually settled in 2024, with Manson agreeing to cover Wood's legal fees as part of the resolution. The outcome marked a significant moment in the long-running dispute.

Separately, prosecutors in Los Angeles announced last year that they would not pursue criminal charges against Manson following a four-year investigation into accusations of domestic abuse and sexual assault involving multiple women. The district attorney's office explained that the domestic abuse charges fell outside the statute of limitations and that it could not prove charges of sexual assault beyond a reasonable doubt.

That decision meant the case would not proceed through the criminal courts, though it did little to quiet the broader public debate about the allegations. For many fans, the lack of criminal charges does not resolve the underlying concerns, while supporters of Manson point to the outcome as evidence that he should not be treated as guilty.

BBC Newsbeat has contacted representatives for Marilyn Manson as well as the gig promoters Live Nation UK in an effort to obtain a response to the fan reaction. As of the time of writing, no comment had been provided.

The episode underscores the delicate position in which major touring acts now find themselves. Booking decisions that once would have passed largely unnoticed can quickly escalate into online campaigns, with fans using social media to pressure artists and promoters. The upcoming Slipknot shows will now serve as something of a test case for how such controversies play out at the box office.

For Slipknot, the tour was intended as a celebration of their global reach, with stadium dates and overseas legs marking another milestone in a career built on theatrical intensity. Instead, the focus has shifted to a debate about who shares their stage and what that says about the band's values.

Whether the dissent translates into reduced ticket sales remains to be seen. Some fans who object may simply stay home, while others may decide the lure of seeing Slipknot live outweighs their concerns. Either way, the announcement has already achieved something rare: it has turned a support-act booking into a full-blown public argument about accountability, memory, and the limits of fandom.