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Swiss Nix Manson Inquiry
12/16/2003 5:30 PM, E! Online
Josh Grossberg
Once again the Swiss are remaining neutral.
And Marilyn
Manson is thankful.
Swiss authorities have decided not
to press charges against the rock 'n' roll oddity in the wake of a criminal
investigation following complaints from a religious group offended
by Manson's February 2001 concert in Zurich.
The city's
examining magistrate, Marcel Scherrer, declared on Monday that his
office had found no evidence to suggest that Manson (real name: Brian
Warner) incited violence or breached Swiss law that protects the
sanctity of religion.
In deciding not to file charges, the
district prosecutor essentially rejected a grievance filed by Christians
for Truth, a Swiss-based fundamentalist group that was not amused by the
shock rocker's show and called on the government to ban Manson from the
country. Instead, officials agreed with Manson's argument that his
satanic stage show was "provocative art" geared toward stimulating
debate about the nature of religion and violence.
The
Antichrist Superstar and his band--whose stage names are derived by
combining the monikers of Hollywood icons with infamous serial
killers--were in Zurich for a sell-out date on Nov. 30 as part of a Euro
tour in support of his latest release, The
Golden Age of the Grotesque. It was at that time that
prosecutors interviewed him about the complaint, and he cited artistic
freedom , said Scherrer.
A rep for Manson was not
available for comment.
This isn't the first time the
mascara-lovin' showman, known for tearing bibles onstage and gyrating
his genitalia against security guards, has found himself in trouble
for his antics.
This summer, the family friendly folks at
Six Flags Darien Lake in New York refused to let Manson perform as part
of Ozzfest.
In September, he was cleared by a Minnesota
jury after being sued by a security guard who claimed he "endured
ridicule and shame" when Manson rubbed his nether regions on the guard
during a 2000 show.
A month later, his set at the Freakers
Ball in Kansas City was cut short after fans rushed the stage, creating
a security mess. Riot police were called in to quell the mob.
Manson's expected to take his Grotesk Burlesk tour--described
as a strange confluence of German Expressionism and vaudeville--back to
the United States, where he'll hook up with Jane's Addiction for several
year-end dates, including ringing in 2004 with a very gothic New Year's
Eve gig at New York's Madison Square Garden.
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