AN INTERVIEW WITH MARILYN MANSON
at the Capitol Ballroom
Washington, D.C.
November 9, 1995

Sprawled on a sofa in the pits of the dungeon-like dressing rooms of D.C.'s illustrious newly-opened Capitol Ballroom, shock-rocker Marilyn Manson crossed his legs in a pair of ripped-up black stockings, covered by a politically-incorrect rabbit fur coat. A firm believer in "Survival of the Fittest", this was one group of bunnies that didn't quite make it. During the course of the show, Mr. Manson managed to slash himself across the stomach with a shard from a broken beer bottle, appeared to have exposed his genitalia or something resembling that action, and with a little slight-of-hand, made it look as if he had sodomized himself with a stick, which he then threw (yuck!) at the gaping audience. His on-stage antics follow in the well-established tradition of shock-rockers of the past, and so the question remains: where can Marilyn Manson go from here? What can he do to shock his audience any further? He started the show by pulling a coke bottle out of his anus. I had just finished interviewing him minutes earlier. Thought: was that coke bottle shoved up his ass during the interview?
Why was Sara Lee Lucas replaced?
He wasn't really growing with the band, musically, and he really couldn't keep up with our lifestyle, so we just needed somebody stronger - better drummer.
Where did Ginger Fish come from?
Las Vegas. He played in a lot of Las Vegas bands. He auditioned for us and we liked what he could do, so he got the job right away.
Who is he named for?
Ginger Rogers, a dancer, and Albert Fish, an old man that murdered and ate children.
What is your favorite track on the new album? I guess my favorite one would be "Sweet Dreams". I've always liked that song, I like doing that, I haven't gotten sick of it. I always thought the lyrics were very strong and dark and I wasn't sure if people had seen it the way that I saw it so I wanted to redo it and let people get to experience it the way that I did.
What are your thoughts on evolution?
Well, I don't have any specific theories about the origin of Man, but I tend to believe in Social Darwinism, so I believe the evolution of society. I guess I believe, to a certain degree, the Darwin Theory. But at the same time, I'm open to the idea of aliens and I'm open to the idea of a lot of different things. I'm not, however, open to the idea of Genesis and Creationism. It doesn't work for me.
Even the aliens had to have come from somewhere... Do you believe in the existence of Satan as an entity? I think Satan is a word that you can use to describe your animalistic side if, as a whole, everyone's animalistic nature - I guess Satan exists in that sense - that part of everyone's personality. I don't believe in it as a "being". It's a word that represents rebellion, represents Man, represents a defiance towards society and God and the things that are forced upon us and are considered to be normal and acceptable.
After having had the experience as a child when you discovered an aborted fetus in a coffee can, and having that image imprinted on your brain, what are your thoughts on abortion? I think the problem that always arises with issues like abortion, between Pro-Choice and Pro-Life, nobody really wants to deal with the problem, and that's birth control. I think if more people concentrated on dealing with that - making birth control more of an issue - then you wouldn't have to deal with the idea of abortion. I don't think stupid people should breed, so in that sense, I'm pro-abortion.
Who decides who's stupid and shouldn't "breed"? Exactly ... that's where you get into the grey area. I think my ideal Utopia would be to surround myself with people who are intelligent and are responsible for themselves and want to be individuals and want to do what they want to do and want to be themselves and not what television or religion or society might want to impress upon them. That would be my criteria for intelligence.
So it's like a forced escape from all the "outside" influences? They're kind of inside influences or they're outside depending on how you look at them. I think you need all that - I don't think you need to escape it. You just need to realize that a lot of people take for granted the things they're being fed everyday. They don't realize what it is.
What are your views on sexual abuse of children? I think a lot of things through the era of talk shows are fabricated and created by psychiatrists to further their businesses and that fuel is added to by talk shows and things like that. As a kid I experienced many different types of sexual abuse from all different directions - but I'm not the sort of person that would get on a talk show and complain about it - instead, I deal with it in my song writing, and a lot of people misinterpret things I say as being pro or to encourage child molestation, but these are just the way that I say these things and I deal with the things that happened to me as a child and that's my way of dealing with it.
But are you FOR or AGAINST it?
Well, I'm not for it OR against it - I'm just speaking about what happened to me as a kid - of course I wouldn't say that I'm "for" it ... there's nothing right about taking away the innocence of someone, but what I'm not promoting or supporting is the way America deals with the whole topic. I think that they make it out to be more than it is a lot of times.
Are you referring to sensationalism?
I think a lot of psychiatrists, with this whole idea of "repressed" memories and this whole concept of multiple personality disorders and things like that - I think a lot of times they create these scenarios just to further their businesses.
What impact do you think sexual family secrets have on a family? I think it's always the most innocent-seeming families that have the darkest secrets. That's why they're secrets, because they're afraid to tarnish their beautiful outer appearance. In songs like "Wrapped in Plastic" where I talk about things like that and the family, I think it's always the denial and the guilt and the repression that will cause problems that parents will always try and blame another things like rock'n'roll music and movies and things like that, but it's this masochistic system that they set up where they make kids feel guilty for being themselves and a lot of times through morality they will just hide the truth from kids and I think if you give children more credit and you tell them the truth more often, then they deal with it more.
What impression do you want to make on American's youth? If I could just get them to want an answer, then they'll find it on their own - I don't have an answer for them. There's a distinct lack of leadership, idols, icons and superstars for kids to identify with. When I was a kid there were a lot of people that, as an escape, I could look to or look up to and it just seems like there's not that anymore. America needs that Anti-Christ figure, that Anti-Hero to save these kids from the oppression of Right Wing morality.
Who were your heroes as a child?
Jim Morrison, Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Willie Wonka, Anton LaVey...
At what age do you think a person becomes sexually responsible? I couldn't generalize - I think different people mature at different rates. I think a lot of people grow up really quickly.
Puberty?
Puberty is probably the key. But some people may never grow into it.
By the way - is that real fur or fake fur you're wearing? It's real rabbit fur.
So you're not an "Animal Rights" advocate? No. I think a lot of people have their "Good Guy" badges and they attach themselves to different groups, because they feel they might have some sort of lack in their lives, they feel like they need to do something positive, and a lot of times they don't even really believe in their causes, so you get people complaining about leather coats and fur jackets and abortions and cigarette smoke and drugs and alcohol and pornography and whatever it might be, but they forget that that's what America is founded on - the blood of people and animals and drugs and caffeine and sugar - not about Nutrasweet and everything else everyone's trying to pump us full of nowadays. It's a little too late to take it all back, sorry.
Would you like to have a family of your own someday? I like the idea - I don't know if it's something that could come true or work out possibly - I don't know if I would want to bring a kid into the world, but I would like to have the opportunity to be a father.
If you had children, would you want them to follow your values, or would you expect them to rebel against you? I would give them the opportunity to develop their own, so that they wouldn't have to rebel. I wouldn't force anything upon them - I think they would naturally follow the way of thinking that I abide by, because I seem to go with what's natural and what's human - I don't resist my human emotions, I don't feel guilty for feeling lust and greed and hatred. I respect those that respect themselves and I believe in Survival of the Fittest and I think it's basic human instinct.
What would one do to rebel against you?
To rebel against me... well I don't think my way of thinking is a standard that you could rebel against, so I don't know if that's possible. I haven't established a dogma or a standard that people have to obey, so they really can't rebel against it, unless they're rebelling against themselves.
What was your most vivid arrest?
The first one... Jacksonville, Florida. When I was taken away right after I walked off stage and I was strip searched and left in jail for 16 hours to be harassed.
How did you feel performing oral sex on stage in front of your parents? I hadn't thought about them being there at the time... so I didn't have any exact feelings about them seeing it at the moment, but afterwards I felt very comfortable about it - they weren't really offended - they've learned to be openminded with the things that I do.
So their reaction made you feel comfortable? Well, they didn't really express a reaction to me, but afterwards I didn't feel uncomfortable.
If there is a God, does He love Marilyn Manson? I believe that I am my own God, so I am a Narcissist, so yeah - I love myself.
But what I meant by the question was, if there is a God in the other sense, in the sense that you don't believe in... If there was Christian's God - He has no love for me.
You don't think so?
If God existed in the way that Christianity wanted it to - no, He would have no love for me, because I represent everything that He would teach NOT to be. Not by choice, not by me saying "I want to be 'bad' and I want to be 'wrong'" - just by me being myself and having different morality. My good and evil is different from their good and evil.
But don't you think parents love their children all the same - both the good ones AND the bad ones? It's hard to say - the Bible as a book sends out a lot of mixed messages - you know, you've got a cruel, angry God and you've got a loving God, so - they can't really make up their minds, so when they get their story straight, I'll read it again, maybe. Their God likes me... I don't know...

THE SPOKEN WORD OF THE REVEREND MARILYN MANSON
THE FOLLOWING IS THE ONLY REPORT TAKEN BACK-STAGE AT THE NIN/ MARILYN MANSON SHOW IN SALT LAKE CITY, WHERE MARILYN MANSON WAS BANNED FROM PERFORMING AT AN ALL-AGES SHOW AT THE "DELTA CENTER." RAD was back- stage with the Jim Rose Circus and NIN watching the local news reports regarding the Marilyn Manson show. I knew I had a firm interview set up with the band, but wasn't sure what would happen with this whole cancellation thing. Immediately following the report, Marilyn and the band come walking into the catering area. Everyone asks Marilyn what happens and talk about the city and plans for the show that night. This is what Marilyn told RAD right after that.
RAD: What is the History of Marilyn Manson
Marilyn: Marilyn Manson sort of started coming about in 1990the name. It's something that sort of came to me from watching a lot of talk shows and Hollywood Babylon and those types of things and realize that Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson were some of the most memorable people from the '60's for me. I thoughtin the tradition of philosophers like Hegelthe juxtaposition of diametrically opposed archetypes: taking two extremes, putting them together, and coming up with something totally different. And that's kinda what we did with Marilyn Manson, it's male/female good/evil god/satan push/pull, whatever words you want to come up with. That kind of defines my personality and represented the lyrics that I was writing. Then I met the guitar player and we wrote some songs together. And from there we just found some other people who were into what we were into.
RAD: How did you meet Trent (Reznor)?
Marilyn: I met Trent about four or five years ago, and over the growth of Marilyn Manson I always passed along demo tapes and things. And then when he got the opportunity to start his own label, he contacted us. It was perfect for us, because it gave
RAD: What are you about? Identifying the different parts of society good and evil?
Marilyn: We're about that balance, you know. For example, this really comes into play here in Salt Lake City. It's a very moral, christian sort of environment, so we're that balance that has to go against that. We're the devil's advocate, the accuser, the opposing side, you know, the underdog. That's kind of always our goal is to be on that side of the fence. We really represent individuality. Kid's should think for themselves. Not to be like your friends who think they're individuals, but to be like you. Not to be like us, but to be what YOU are. Our music doesn't have anything to do with the way you look, or anything like that, it's what's in your head. Break out of the herd mentality and realize that it's the here and now. That there's no afterlife that's going to justify or punish. You have to make what you've got now work for you, and realize that everything pretty much is a lie, everything's a hoax. That's why Marilyn Manson is such a beyond fake stage name, is to represent that it's so fake that it becomes real at that point. If you realize your hypocracy, then you go past it. A lot of people in this city that have prohibited us from play are sort of cheating themselves with self-deceit, saying, "It's OK for us to do this behind closed doors, but they can't do this here." Really all it comes down to is money, and someone here was at risk of loosing money, obviously. I don't think it was ever about morals, because morals are always decided by who has the most artillery or money. It's not really about what really matters, nobody really cares about the kids here, nobody cares about exposing the kids to this obscene Marilyn Manson show, they just care about money. We, on the other hand, actually DO care about the kids, and what we're saying is a very harsh reality, and it's not diluted and wrapped up in lies like their parents wrap are giving them. That's why their parents don't like it, because we're ruining their game, their big scam.
I mean, the bottom line is that if any one does find what we do offensive, they should just turn it off. There's a lack of listener responsibility. People always want to put the responsibility on artists, or movies, or T.V. It's kind of late for that, you know. I was brought up with all of these things: T.V. and violence and sex, drugs, rock & roll, caffeine, sugar, all these things. We've turned out a certain way and we've become accustomed to it, and now they've decided, "well, this isn't going to work. Let's use nutrasweet, let's have less violence." It's too late for that. You've made us out like this, and you have to deal with it.
It's not that bad. I'm not saying we're "bad" from our perspective. We're moral people. We're not trying to be immoral. We're just showing them that not everyone has the same morals. This is what we believe, and you believe what you want.
RAD: You're with N.I.N. on a HUGE tour. Is that great exposure? Is this the directions that Marilyn Manson wants to go with things?
Marilyn: Um. We're not going to try and kid anyone and say, "we don't want to become popular, and anyone to know who we are." That's part of being a band, being entertainers. The more people that we reach, the better. I don't want to remain an underground secret. However, we still want to hang on to what we're about. We're not going to change what we're doing to fit into that. Like tonight, for example, they asked us to change what we do and we could play, and we said, "no" and they refused to let us play. This tour has been great exposure and we have no complaints at all about it.



Revelations
THE SPOKEN WORD OF THE REVEREND MARILYN MANSON
"I would probably host an MTV show and I would play only Iron Maiden's 'Number of the Beast' video over and over again until everybody killed themselves"
-The Reverend on what TV show he'd like to be on as a guest.

"I would say I haven't decided yet. I mean, it's predominantly heterosexual, but - "
- The Reverend in answer to the "Are you gay, straight, or bi?" question.

"I think it came out exactly how I saw it because I really had seen it in its finished form and it was just a matter of working to recreate that in my own head, so yeah, I'm very happy with it." - The Reverend on the Antichrist Superstar album.

"People have forsaken their imagination when they become adults but there's so much power behind your mind that you can really be or do or say anything if you put your mind to it, because belief is the key to accomplishing anything."
- The Reverend on having an imagination.

"Well, I want it to last for a long time. A lot of my favourite things have been movies that you can watch over and over again and find things, in records, too...It is a lot; it's like my life story, so there's a lot there, and there is something beyond that."
- The Reverend on the depth of Antichrist Superstar.

"I still consider what I do to be journalism because I write about what I've seen and people read about it, but for a while I was on the other side of the questions. Then I decided that I would rather be answering them." - The Reverend on being a former journalist.

"My favourite song are 'Kinderfeld' and 'Dried Up' and those songs were both written and recorded in one day where with a lot of the other songs, there was a lot of time involved."
- The Reverend on his favourite songs off of Antichrist Superstar.

"That was the first song (I wrote) and that's why it's the last song (on the album), because it foresees it's own end... It's kind of a resignation, people will see it as a suicide end or failure, but for me, it's almost an 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.' It's accepting things for the way they are and whether that's dying in your mind or dying in the world, or if it's being born again or whatever, that's going to be for people to decide how they really want to apply that, but for me it was the way to finish this whole thing."
- The Reverend on "Man That You Fear".

"Now we've kind of moved to where I've always wanted to go. I haven't been satisfied with anything up to 'Sweet Dreams', that was what I really wanted. We'll just continue to go on from there." -The Reverend on Marilyn Manson's videos.

"That's the way I like to have it. Anything I say or do, I try to make very extreme in whatever way, whether it's positive or negative. So, if the reaction is the same, that makes me happy. Being mediocre is not what I want in any way, in anything."
- The Reverend on being that object of intense love and hatred.

"I would be lying if I said that I wanted to be anonymous because I would never have started this if I wanted that." - The Reverend on being recognized.

"It's always been clear since the first record that rock stardom is what Marilyn Manson was based in. The song 'Lunchbox' was about that... If they really believe what I'm saying, the more people that hear it the better, and a lot of people are always concerned about new fans that come along because of the commercial airplay... Well, people always have to discover it in their own way and it's better that they find it, because if they don't find it they would go about their lives listening to other stuff that would never open them up as much as this could, so the hard-core fans should be happy. If I was them I would be out playing it for other people. It's almost like Christianity, it's like going out and telling other people, being a missionary."
- The Reverend on veteran fans' concern over Marilyn Manson's increasing popularity.

"There were different transformations we had to go through musically and mentally. And our fans had to go through several steps to get to the point where they would appreciate this record. And all of America in general really wouldn't be affected in the same way that they will now if the record had been released earlier."
- The Reverend on the changes that had to take place for Antichrist Superstar to come about.

"...I've realized that , yes in many ways our fans forsaking Christianity and listening to me is almost the same thing obviously. But what I've realized is I can't merely tell people to don't do this and don't do that and then not give them a direction to go. I think people need some sort of leader. It is quite a contradiction, it is a paradox. I think in order for us to evolve as a society, there needs to be powerful forms of art and outspoken individuals who will lead masses to a greater sense of intelligence."
- The Reverend on some fans replacing following religion or government with following Marilyn Manson.

"I associate God with boring music like Hootie & the Blowfish. In the tradition of Jerry Lee Lewis burning his piano and balling his thirteen-year old cousin, we're what rock 'n' roll's supposed to be." - The Reverend on snatching rock 'n' roll back from God and returning it to the Devil.

"I'm not allowed to. Or if I do I'll have to kill you afterward." - The Reverend's response when asked to talk about the ceremony in which he was ordained the Reverend Manson by CoS founder Anton LaVey.

"I see the apocalypse and the destruction of Christianity as giving people back to themselves so they can wake up and realize that they have the ability to be their own God and their own Devil and accept responsibility for both halves. Which is all Satanism is." - The Reverend on Satanism.

"Well, we had a music class which I hated. One time we got to bring our own music and I brought AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell'. I got kicked out of class." - The Reverend on his school days in music class.

"I used to look so forward to watching it as a kid when it came around on Thanks Giving that I'd even go to the store and buy candy for the event. It's the definitive Marilyn Manson movie." - The Reverend on the movie "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory".

"No. But I've been told by psychologists that I suffer from a condition called the delusion of self. It's when you feel that everything is related and all circumstances have something to do with one another. Some people think of it as a mental disorder, but I just think of it as a higher plain of awareness."
- The Reverend in answer to the question "Have you ever been to therapy?".

"Me."
- the Reverend in on who's the most important person in the 20th century.

"I have an extensive collection of prosthetic limbs that I love. So if anybody wants to send those I'd be grateful." - The Reverend on collecting things.
"My shyness."
- The Reverend on what fuels his exhibitionism.

"I've always used cosmetics as a terrorist act. It's hard for me to accept any kind of role as a sex symbol when I'm on stage, so I try to make myself more unattractive just to see what people's reactions will be. And I can't look bad enough - they keep eatin' it up." - The Reverend on using makeup.

"It was a minister's daughter named Jill Tucker who had whitish blonde hair and buck teeth. I liked her a lot, but even in the third grade I saw that her being a minister's daughter would prove a problem for me." - The Reverend on his first kiss.

"I'm sure there are a lot of people who think they'd be doing the world a favour by killing the Antichrist, so yeah, I see it as a danger. But at the same time, I often feel immortal - I've had this sense since I was a kid that I've got something important to do. So, I don't have time to die - I'm too busy."
- The Reverend on fearing for his life.

"Not at all. I'll try to do whatever interests me. But whether it's ideas or chemicals, I refuse to be bound down or controlled by anything. I do feel, however, that drugs should be dispersed without restriction. Then the people who want to kill themselves will do it and there'll be more room for the people who can do the rest of the drugs."
-The Reverend's to response to "Do you consider yourself an addict?".

"We can't go any further without starting over. It's like what sexual position are left, what other violence can you show, what other drug can you do, what other thing can you get pierced? It's all been done. Sickly enough, maybe what America really needs is for everyone to become a Christian so we can all be excited by the taboos once again."
- The Reverend on what's in store for the 21st century.

"As a kid I was terrified of the apocalypse and the Antichrist, and in my dreams I'd always be trying to find out who it was going to be. Then at one point I saw myself. That's when I knew I wanted to be like Nietzsche or Aleistair Crowley - men, who have in their own way, drawn people closer to the apocalypse. So I hope that each time Antichrist is played it brings people one step closer to the end of the world - in their hearts or in their flesh."
- The Reverend on the dreams he had as a child.

















Here is the most current interview i could get i will post more as soon as i find them.




MARILYN MANSON ON RELIGION

Q: What was your religious upbringing?
A: My first memories of religion were being taken to Episcopal church. My father was Catholic, but my mother, I believe, was Episcopal. So I sort of veered off into the watered-down version of Catholicism.
At the same time I was going to a nondenominational Christian school, where I was taught a very underhanded form of Christianity. For example, my Bible teacher would ask the class, "Is there anyone in the room that’s Catholic?” or “Is there anyone that’s Jewish?" If there was no response, she would talk about how wrong those other religions interpreted the Bible. So at an early age, Christians already started to appear to me as people who believed that their interpretation of God was the only one that was right.
Q: At least she didn’t want to offend anyone...
A: Then I started to learn about Revelations, and they pumped a lot of fear about the end of the world into us. I used to have nightmares about the Antichrist--what would happen, where it would come from, and who it would be. The Christians also created this myth about the rapture, which if you look through the Bible, doesn’t exist. There is a verse in the Bible that mentions that when Christ returns, he’ll come like a thief in the night. So there was a movie they would play for us about the rapture called. It was about everyone who fell prey to the lure of the Antichrist and got the mark of the beast would be left behind during the rapture. Cars would be abandoned, and people would be starving and killing each other. Everyone else would float up into heaven.
When I turned about 14, I developed a friendship with this guy whose mom was the secretary to Ernest Angley, the faith healer, who’s very popular in the Midwest. He had a television show, and he was sort of like Liberace mixed with Jerry Falwell--very glitzy, very high-tech. He had a gold cathedral, one of the most decadent places I’d seen, until recently when I went to the Vatican-–that outdid it! But whenever I spent the weekend with my friend, I would have to go to these Friday night services that began at midnight.
Q: That sounds wild.
A: It was odd because you were starting to fall asleep--it’s the perfect time to brainwash people. People were tossing money onto the stage and speaking in tongues. It was very terrifying, like a horror show. It may have been what inspired me to become a rock musician!
So that was the point where I started to seek out other interpretations of God. And initially, when you rebel, you go for the obvious choices--heavy metal, Satanism. To me, Satan ultimately represents rebellion. Lucifer was the angel that was kicked out of heaven because he wanted to be God. To me, what greater character to identify with?
So initially I was drawn into the darker side of life. But it’s really just human nature. I started to learn that everything that’s considered a sin is what makes you a human being. All the seven deadly sins are man’s true nature. To be greedy. To be hateful. To have lust. Of course, you have to control them, but if you’re made to feel guilty for being human, then you’re going to be trapped in a never-ending sin-and-repent cycle that you can’t escape from. And you’re going to be miserable. Ultimately, you’ll be living in your own hell. So there’s no need to worry about going to hell, because hell will be on earth.
Q: What are your spiritual beliefs now?
A: A lot of people like to pass me off as a devil worshipper. I think that could only be true if I considered myself to be the devil, because I tend to be narcissistic and believe in my own strength and my own identity. I find God to be what exists in what you create. I make music. I think that that’s coming in touch with God when I write a story, when I come up with a phrase or paint a picture, because that’s about creating. Art gives people a reason to be alive. It gives people something to believe in. I think art is the only thing that’s spiritual in the world. And I refuse to be forced to believe in other people’s interpretations of God. I don’t think anybody should be. There’s no one person that can own the copyright to what God means.
Q: When did you begin to encounter resistance because of your beliefs?
A: Well, resistance always will be the first thing to fuel the fire when you’re young. That’s how I learned about heavy metal music. They would have these seminars in Christian school saying, “This is what you’re not supposed to listen to.” So I immediately went out and bought it.
But when people rail against me for what I do, I absolutely can understand why they would. And I make that a part of my art. My art is not limited to the songs I create but also to the reaction it creates. I like to sit back and look at the whole thing as if it’s a tornado that I’m controlling. It’s creating chaos. When you create chaos, ideas are turned upside down, and everybody looks at things in a different way.
At the same time, I’m not simply out to shock people. I like to make people think. Since I chose the forum of rock music, people like to pass it off as simple, dumb, and childish, meant to trick teenagers into spending all their money on my records. But that’s never why I got into it. I got into it to get laid, basically! No, I got into it to say what was on my mind, and I’m fortunate enough that people are listening. And it amazes me sometimes how many people are listening.
Q: You’ve always been fascinated by the idea of Jesus as a figure that brings together images of violence, fame, and sexuality.
A: Absolutely. I’ve gone to great lengths to express it in my work that Christ is the first celebrity. The crucifix is the most successful piece of merchandise ever created. I think the image of him dying on the cross is very violent. It’s very sexual. It’s very phallic. And I think it’s intended to be all those things. It’s intended to make women want to be married to Christ and make men want to be like him. And to cause fear. Some of the scariest buildings I’ve ever been in are churches. They’re beautiful in their ominous architecture. And I think that image has caused more pain and suffering than a swastika or the hammer and sickle. And those images are taboo, while the crucifix will always be considered holy. But think of how many people died in the name of that image.
Q:You say you recently saw the Vatican. What was that like, and what do you think of the pope?
A: It’s odd that you ask, because I have the pope’s head, which someone sold me from a wax museum, sitting on the shelf in front of me, staring at me. I don’t really have an opinion on the pope. It’s strange that so many people look up to him, because if you actually believed Christ’s teachings, it would be inappropriate to idolize somebody as much as you do God, and a lot of people look to the pope or the Virgin Mary in a way that’s idolatrous. But I don’t have a problem with him.
I was kind of overwhelmed by the Vatican. I was overwhelmed by the amount of gold that was used to create the building, while so many people complain about hunger and homelessness and the pain and sufferings of the world. And buildings like that are supposed to be what God intended. It doesn’t add up.
Q: Is there a particular religious figure that you most love to hate? Any you admire? You once said to me, “I see someone like Jerry Falwell as the same as Marilyn Manson in some ways. He’s stating his opinion, expressing his beliefs, whether he really believes them or not. And it’s a form of entertainment, because people pay him for it. Religion to me is entertainment.”
A: I don’t really have hatred for any of them. I find amusement in a lot of modern religious figures. And I wouldn’t say I have respect for many modern religious figures. But I acknowledge what they’re doing. And the ones that do it best I envy, because I see the sheer evil in what they’re doing. You have to admire their cunning and their diabolical ways of manipulating the world. It fascinates me, ultimately. I just find myself fascinated with all religious figures throughout history.