Billy Corgan cited his Christian faith when explaining why he’s remained friends with Marilyn Manson through sexual abuse allegations, saying loyalty still leaves room to question a friend’s actions.
Asked about their decades-long friendship on the Popcast podcast, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman said: “As a Christian person, you have to stand by your friends, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have an opinion, and that doesn’t mean you’re not critical.”
Corgan said he personally believed Manson wasn’t guilty and pointed to the Los Angeles district attorney’s decision not to pursue criminal charges. Manson, whose real name is Brian Warner, has faced multiple lawsuits alleging sexual abuse.
District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the charging decision after a 4-year investigation. Prosecutors said they couldn’t prove the sexual abuse allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, while other claims fell outside the statute of limitations. Those findings concern whether prosecutors could bring criminal charges; they don’t establish that the allegations were false.
Corgan also said his judgment drew on knowing people involved in the case. “Anyone in that situation struggles with the accusations, the seriousness of the accusations,” he said. “But again, I also knew the inside baseball of the case.”
He said he believes these situations should be evaluated individually: “If he’s guilty or anybody in that situation is guilty, they should go to jail. I’m not saying I have any moral supremacy here.”
“I don’t want the world to tell me who my friends are and who I should associate with,” Corgan said.
Manson didn’t directly address the interview, but he liked a video of the conversation shared on Instagram.