Guitarist John 5 has finally addressed the long-discussed onstage altercation with Marilyn Manson that left fans and media speculating for years. The incident occurred during the band’s set at the 2003 edition of Germany’s Rock am Ring Festival, where a sudden and seemingly aggressive exchange between Manson and John 5 was caught on camera and widely circulated.
Now, over two decades later, John 5 is offering his perspective on what really happened that night—and setting the record straight.
He said during an interview with Lipps Service (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “My dad was dying. He was very ill, and I was working. And I went down to the bottom of the stairs after I got off stage, and Tony, the manager, said, ‘You should call your sister.’ My sister, Mary. And I said, ‘My dad died, right?’ He was like, ‘Just call Mary.’ I go, ‘My dad died, right?’ Just kind of preparing myself. He goes, ‘Just call home.’”
“So I call, and she’s crying hysterically. I’m like, ‘Dad died?’ She goes, ‘Lynn died,’ and that was my other sister. And I was like, ‘What?!’ I was, like, literally in a state of shock. I have no idea what was going on.”
“So I didn’t sleep for… Now, it sounds hard to believe, but I didn’t sleep for, like, six, seven days,” he continued. “And I did everything in my power to sleep. I would take sleeping pills, everything. Nothing affected me. And then Manson bumps into me or hits me. But that happened every night. And dude, I’m telling you, I snapped. I don’t even remember it, and it was so unprofessional on my part, and I felt so bad about it.”
Professionally filmed, the performance clip has garnered over a million views on YouTube. Despite this popularity, John 5 claims he hasn’t watched it himself.
“I can’t watch it,” he said. “And Manson, who you can’t hear what he’s saying, but you know what he’s saying. And the guy’s so smart, he goes, ‘Pick up your guitar. Pick up your guitar. Just pick up your guitar. Don’t bring your family into this.’ I was shocked, but I felt so horrible. It was so unprofessional on my part.”
Source: metaladdicts.com
