MARILYN MANSON: New Audio Interview Available

"Elliot in the Morning" recently conducted an interview with Marilyn Manson. Download the audio file in MP3 format at this location.

Marilyn Manson is being sued by former keyboard player Stephen Bier, who performed with the band under the name Madonna Wayne Gacy. In a lawsuit filed on Thursday (August 2) in Los Angeles, Bier has accused Manson of "filching millions of dollars the band made over the years" with the help of his manager, lawyer and business manager.

In an e-mail sent to the Post with the approval of his attorney, Bier stated that he was promised "partnership proceeds" from the band in 1993, only to see Manson spend large amounts of money on a "multi-million-dollar home," "a lavish wedding in Ireland" and "an engagement ring to Dita von Teese," Manson's former wife. In addition, Bier's lawsuit states that Manson also splurged on "sick and disturbing purchases of Nazi memorabilia and taxidermy (including the skeleton of a young Chinese girl)."

Bier said that when he requested his share of the so-called "partnership proceeds," Manson "devised a campaign to drive Bier out of the band and rob him of his entitlement."

Bier has played keyboards on every Manson album except for the newest one, "Eat Me, Drink Me". He was said to have left the Manson band shortly before the album's release in order to concentrate on his photography.

Manson has denied the charges, telling MTV News, "The fact that he's claiming that I've treated him unfairly, financially, is really ridiculous. And I would never spend my money on a Chinese girl skeleton. That would be crossing the line. It's a Chinese boy, for the record," he joked, before continuing. "[Bier and his lawyers are] going for shock value, obviously, and I couldn't be less surprised by how unshocking these things would be to the public."

Manson said he will defend himself against the allegations. "I wish there was some sort of legal angle to this whole thing, or some sort of common sense, or just even camaraderie after all the years that we knew each other," he continued. "I don't have an explanation for it. It just seems like another ex-bandmember suing me and trying to assassinate my personality as a means to financial gain, and it just seems old. It's just not fair. If I spent my money on anything, it was my family, and paying his salary for a year when we weren't even touring."

Manson is currently on a co-headlining tour with SLAYER that stops in Worcester, Massachusetts on Saturday (August 4).

(Thanks: Iamwormbuffet)