Nancy mayor opposes American singer’s planned festival appearance

The mayor of Nancy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, has spoken out against a planned appearance of Marilyn Manson at a heavy metal concert in the city due to accusations of sexual and domestic violence against the American singer. 

The singer is set to perform among other artists for the Heavy Week-End festival in June 2027. 

However, his inclusion in the line-up has prompted criticism since several women had accused him of sexual assault and abuse, including British actress Esmé Bianco, who played Ros in Game of Thrones and filed a lawsuit against him in 2021. The case was settled in 2023.

Former assistant Ashley Walters also came forward and accused the singer of sexual assault. Her lawsuit was allowed to proceed again by a Los Angeles judge in January 2026. Manson denies the allegations and is up until now presumed innocent until proven otherwise. 

After the line-up was made public by the organisers, Nancy’s mayor Mathieu Klein opposed the line-up in a Facebook post. 

“The legal situations of the invited artists, involving multiple convictions that have already led to tour cancellations as recently as this year, ongoing legal proceedings and numerous consistent accounts of gender-based and sexual violence and discriminatory positions, cannot leave us without a reaction,” he said.

He said he was “firmly committed to respecting victims” and to respecting women who come forward to report sexual violence and rape.

“While the courts have already convicted certain acts and we respect the presumption of innocence in cases currently under investigation, we remain opposed to this line-up in light of the allegations that are still pending and due to be heard in court,” he said.

The mayor’s reference to previous convictions concerned the artists on the line-up as a whole, not specifically Marilyn Manson.

Mr Klein said a meeting would take place with the festival's promoter next week.

“We will tell them that these artists are not welcome in Nancy,” he wrote.

He added that, depending on the outcome of the meeting, the Greater Nancy Metropolitan Authority would “use all the means at its disposal” to act.