(This update courtesy of Agape Press.)
by Chad Groening
(AgapePress) – A pro-family journalist who has done extensive research on Marilyn Manson says the shock rocker's popularity is on the wane. He says that may be the reason why Manson may have crossed the line: to attract attention.
Rusty Benson writes for the American Family Association Journal. He once attended a Marilyn Manson concert for a story during the height of the performer's popularity. But now Benson says Manson's most recent CD did not do too well — and at a July 30 concert outside Detroit, witnesses claim Manson attacked a security guard and allegedly performed lewd sexual acts. As a result, he has been charged with criminal sexual assault.
Benson believes the incident is all about money. “At one time, Manson kind of claimed to have something to say in the content of his songs and wanted to be taken seriously … as an artist, and wanted the respect of other people,” Benson says.
“But now it's just all about money — and the kind of disrespect that he showed for this security guard is just so hypocritical because he wants to be shown respect, but he humiliates and disrespects this man in a way that we can't even describe [in print].”
Benson says other performers have come along to challenge Manson's crown as the “King of Shock Rock,” so he believes Manson must have felt he had to do something to stimulate his sagging CD sales and get his name back in the headlines.
