Billy Corgan remains steadfast in his relationship with close friend and longtime colleague Marilyn Manson, despite a series of sexual misconduct and domestic violence lawsuits that have been filed against Manson throughout the years. When asked about the friendship on a recent episode of the New York Times'  Popcast  podcast, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman responded that he  personally didn't feel that he was guilty  and that he doesn't appreciate the world telling him  who I should associate with. 

 As a Christian person, you have to stand by your friends, but that doesn't mean you don't have an opinion, and that doesn't mean you're not critical,  said Corgan.  I personally didn't feel that he was guilty of the things he was being charged with, and ultimately, the fact that the DA didn't pursue… the person that I knew and the way it all kind of went down, even though it was an elongated process, was commensurate with the person that I knew. 

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He continued:  I don't want the world to tell me who my friends are and who I should associate with. That's politically or socially. In Brian's case, we have a relationship that goes back close to 30 years.  Corgan noted that Manson's wife, Lindsay Usich, is the twin sister of Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha's wife.  So Manson's basically a part of our family,  he added.

 Anybody in that situation struggles with the accusations, the seriousness of the accusations. But again, I also knew the inside baseball of the case. I knew certain people who were involved, and so you make those evaluations. If he's guilty, or anybody in that situation is guilty, they should go to jail. I'm not saying I have any moral supremacy here. I'm saying it's a case-by-case basis. This kind of witch mob thing bothers me. 

In 2021, actress Evan Rachel Wood alleged that Manson  horrifically abused  her while in a relationship. She gave a statement to Vanity Fair, and a story in the magazine also featured statements from three other women who accused Manson of abuse. Manson was subsequently dropped from his record label, manager and CAA. In 2022, 
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