In a new report published Wednesday by The New York Times, seven women accuse Ryan Adams of wielding his music industry clout to emotionally abuse and sexually manipulate them. The report cites seven different women, including Adams’ ex-wife Mandy Moore and rising artist Phoebe Bridgers, and describes a pattern in which offers of career assistance repeatedly turned into sexual advances and romantic relationships became emotionally abusive.
Perhaps the heftiest accusation in the report is that of Ava, a young bassist who was 14 years old when she began communicating with Adams online. Per The New York Times,
She had been a gifted bassist since the age of 9. By 12, she was road-tripping with her family to Manhattan for gigs with established musicians. … Adams represented the creative future she dreamed of.
Their conversations were on and off, but a constant theme was Adams fretting about Ava’s age — and asking to keep their exchanges secret — while also indulging in sexual scenarios.
“I never see pics of you anymore,” Adams wrote in November 2014, when he had just turned 40 and Ava was newly 16. “You were blowing my mind.” He had pet names for her body parts.
Days later, Adams expressed anxiety: “If people knew they would say I was like R Kelley [sic] lol,” he wrote.
The New York Times reviewed over 3,000 messages between Adams and Ava from a 9-month period during which Ava was 15 and 16 years old, many of which are explicit in nature. Ava also claims that on one occasion during this time, he convinced her to Skype with him and was already naked when they connected.
At the time, Ava lived in Iowa, a state in which it is “a felony to solicit, exchange or possess any material that shows a person under 18 engaging in sexual activity.” However, “Several legal experts said that prosecuting such cases could involve disputes over jurisdiction and whether the adult reasonably believed the minor was of legal age, taking into account context from their conversations.”
Andrew B. Brettler, Adams’s lawyer, told the Times, “Mr. Adams unequivocally denies that he ever engaged in inappropriate online sexual communications with someone he knew was underage.”
In addition to expounding on the details of Ava and Ryan Adams’ correspondence, the report offers accounts from several other female artists that became involved with Adams after he promised to help their careers. Each of them alleges that Adams gained their attention and affection by offering to help them with their musical aspirations. Each of them claims that this affection from Adams eventually became inappropriate and domineering. The similar claims come from women with a range of experience with Ryan Adams, from Mandy Moore, his wife of six years, to Phoebe Bridgers, with whom he was briefly romantically involved, to Courtney Jaye. Jaye was reportedly made so uncomfortable by her one in-person interaction with Adams that she never saw him again and claimed, “Something changed in me that year. It made me just not want to make music.”
As Moore notes, “Music was a point of control for him. What you experience with him — the treatment, the destructive, manic sort of back and forth behavior — feels so exclusive. You feel like there’s no way other people have been treated like this.”
Mandy Moore says of their 6-year marriage, which ended in 2016, “What you experience with him — the treatment, the destructive, manic sort of back and forth behavior — feels so exclusive. You feel like there’s no way other people have been treated like this. … Music was a point of control for him.”
Per Rolling Stone, on Wednesday, prior to the publication of the New York Times article, Adams posted a since-deleted image of the New York Times logo. The caption read, “Fuck you. You are kitty litter. Happy Valentine’s Day.” He also replied to one tweet before the story’s publication with “Run your smear piece. But the leagel [sic] eagles see you. Rats. I’m fucking taking you down.”
Since the report’s publication, that tone has appeared to soften slightly. In a series of tweets posted earlier this evening, Adams noted, “I am not a perfect man and I have made many mistakes. To anyone I have ever hurt, however unintentionally, I apologize deeply and unreservedly. … But the picture that this article paints is upsettingly inaccurate. Some of its details are misrepresented; some are exaggerated; some are outright false. I would never have inappropriate interactions with someone I thought was underage. Period. … As someone who has always tried to spread joy through my music and my life, hearing that some people believe I caused them pain saddens me greatly. I am resolved to work to be the best man I can be. And I wish everyone compassion, understanding and healing.”
I am not a perfect man and I have made many mistakes. To anyone I have ever hurt, however unintentionally, I apologize deeply and unreservedly.
— Ryan Adams (@TheRyanAdams) February 13, 2019
The accusations come as Ryan Adams is preparing for a particularly eventful year. He has noted that he plans to release 3 albums in 2019, released music off the first of those albums, and teased some high-profile collaborations.
He is also preparing to head out on tour this spring. Yesterday, ahead of the publication of the Times‘ report Adams posted on his Instagram about the run, leaving a caption that now seems to echo the women’s claims about him.
Read the full report in The New York Times here.