It shouldn't be a surprise that Marilyn Manson and Courtney Love, two of the most recognizable, outspoken, and divisive rock stars from the 1990s, have an intense relationship. The timeline of Love and Manson's friendship is a bit inconsistent, but the wild stories about the pair have everything you think they would - plus people smashing in plaster casts of each other's faces.
These celebrity friends are on again and off again, but it never feels like their paths totally diverge. If one puts out an album, the other isn't far behind; the same goes for making the jump to film and television. Rumors about Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson have persisted for decades, and the stories about their chaotic friendship have only gotten stranger over time.
In Marilyn Manson's autobiography, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, the singer wrote about how Courtney Love spent a lot of time with his former bass player and songwriting partner Twiggy Ramirez (Jeordie White).
Manson also claimed Trent Reznor believed Love only dated Ramirez to "keep tabs" on Reznor himself.
1996: Love Allegedly Wouldn't Speak To Manson Until He Went Platinum
In an off-the-cuff remark about his relationship with Love, Manson claimed that when they first met, she wouldn't even speak to him. At the time, she allegedly wanted to make sure all her friends were in the million-record club.
Manson said, "She never talked to me until I sold a million records. Sometimes we talk, and it seems okay; other times, she's just a b*tch. I really don't like her too much."
Love had some right to talk, at least: Hole's second album, Live Through This(1994), went multiplatinum and received numerous critical accolades. Manson went platinum with Antichrist Superstar, released in 1996.
Mid-'90s: Love And Manson Were Both At Odds With Trent Reznor
Much of Manson's early success was made possible by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, who took the spooky singer under his wing and helped produce his first few albums, including the breakthrough Antichrist Superstar.
1999: Manson And Love Tried To Tour Together, But It Didn't Work Out
At the turn of the millennium, Manson's and Love's bands both released new albums. The foul-mouthed frenemies toured together on what they called the Beautiful Monsters tour, but it lasted for about 10 days before Hole dropped off while Manson continued. There are a lot of sides to the story, but members of the production believe Love didn't like the way Manson had talked about her in his autobiography or interviews about the tour.
In the middle of the debacle, Manson said, "I'm not Nostradamus, but I could tell you that I will make it to the end. ... That's all I can really say because I don't know what Hole thinks or what Hole feels."
1999: Love Claimed She Stopped Touring With Manson Because The Shows Were Scary
After Hole stopped touring with Marilyn Manson in 1999, Love called their shows together "really scary." She admitted she "didn't like dealing with his energies" - particularly since she was still going through the aftermath of losing her husband, Kurt Cobain.
She claimed Manson took his "death and ruin and drugs" with him, and it was too much pressure for her to withstand. As for why she agreed to the joint tour in the first place, Love claimed she bowed to record label pressure after they "bullied" her.
1999: Manson Helped Reznor Dunk On Love In A Nine Inch Nails Video
One of the biggest singles from the 1999 Nine Inch Nails album The Fragile was "Starf*ckers, Inc." In the video for the song, Trent Reznor takes aim at everyone from REM's Michael Stipe to Courtney Love.
A blonde woman rides in a limo with Reznor to a carnival where they destroy images of alt-rock figures of the day. The video also features a very unflattering Love look-alike getting dropped into the carnival's dunk tank. In the end, the blonde is revealed to have been Manson all along.
