MUMBAI: Singer Marilyn Manson says he pretended to eat a real leech on the set of the TV show ‘Salem’.

The 47-year-old stars in the third season of the American supernatural drama series as a barber. In one scene, he was seen having the slimy segmented worm in his mouth, although he wasn't allowed to swallow it, reports rollingstone.com.

"I was a little disappointed that the leech handler wouldn't let me be a little bit rougher with them. They don't really have nervous systems, technically. But I remember as a little kid I used to pour salt on slugs. They're probably from the same family. And I have eaten escargot before, so I figured why not eat the leech? It's not that big of a deal," he said.

"Yeah. I wasn't technically allowed to swallow it. So, we will agree to disagree to agree that there is a leech in my mouth that did not necessarily get eaten," Manson added.