Alice Cooper has responded after Marilyn Manson was accused of sexual abuse by several women.

Manson, who co-headlined a US tour with the shock-rock icon in 2013, was accused of abuse, grooming and manipulation by actor and ex-partner Evan Rachel Wood and four other women last month.

• READ MORE: Five things we learned from our In Conversation video chat with Alice Cooper

Since Wood’s statement, more women have come forward with allegations about Manson, including actor Bianca Allaine, who said the FBI are involved with her case. Manson has always denied the claims, saying that all of his “intimate relationships have always been entirely consensual with like-minded partners”.

Responding to the allegations, Cooper told NME that he “never noticed that streak” in Manson.

“It’s funny about Marilyn, in that I know Marilyn – when we toured together we got along very well. I never noticed that streak in him, if it’s there. I always believe in the word, allegations are still allegations,” Cooper said in the latest instalment of our In Conversation series.

Cooper then went on to discuss allegations faced by his “best friend” and Hollywood Vampires bandmate Johnny Depp, who was previously accused of domestic violence against his ex-partner Amber Heard.

“First of all, here’s a prime example: Johnny Depp”, Cooper said.

“Johnny Depp and I are best friends. I’ve never seen him lift a finger against anybody. He’s one of the most gentle people. And all of his former girlfriends and wives say the same thing. So it’s really hard to believe that all of a sudden he’s gonna turn into this monster. And I know the guy — I’m with the guy on tour all the time. He’s one of the most gentle, harmless people I’ve ever met.”

Depp lost a libel case against The Sun in November after he sued the publication for calling him a “wife-beater” in a 2018 article. A High Court ruling deemed the allegations to be “substantially true”.

Focusing on Manson once more, Cooper added: “Now I don’t know Marilyn, though, as well as I know Johnny. So what happens in the bedroom is entirely a mystery to me for what’s going on with Marilyn.”

As well as accusations from Evan Rachel Wood, Wolf Alice singer Ellie Rowsell recently accused Manson of filming up her skirt without her consent when they met at a festival.

In the wake of the allegations, Manson has been dropped by his record label Loma Vista and his long-term manager Tony Ciulla.

He has also been axed from his TV projects and will no longer appear in American Gods or the Creepshow anthology.