Singer-songwriter Ryan Adams has responded to accusations of abuse and sexual misconduct with a profoundly inadvisable and immediately deleted threatening tweet.
According to Variety, Adams’ immediate reaction to the New York Times story which interviewed several women, including Mandy Moore and Phoebe Bridgers, about Adams’ alleged emotional abuse and sexual misconduct, was to tweet:
Happy Vanentines [sic] day @nytimes. I know you got lawyers. But do you have the truth on your side. No. I do. And you have run out of friends. My folks are NOT your friends. Run your smear piece. But the legal eagles see you. Rats. I’m fucking taking you down. Let’s learn I bait.
This is so astoundingly close to the “what the fuck did you just say to me, you little bitch” copypasta meme that it’s almost easy to believe it’s parody – but considering Adams almost immediately deleted his post, it was probs legit.
Fans responses to the accusations against Adams have been swift and damning; on Twitter, many are sharing their grief at realising the man they idolised for many years may have been using his power in the music industry not just to get into the pants of women he promised the world to, but also to stifle the career of his ex-wife Mandy Moore.
I always wondered why @TheMandyMoore seemingly fell off the music radar and post-Tangled had a film hiatus. Then all of a sudden the year is 2016, she’s left Adams and her star rises. 🤔
— Mikey Mkoka-Nicholson (@Mikey_Nicholson) February 13, 2019
Reading stories like this makes me wonder about all the great art we’ve lost because of predators like Ryan Adams who take advantage of talented women. https://t.co/zSpjpjMr3p
— Jonathan Foiles (@jonathanfoiles) February 13, 2019
I’m just so disgusted by this Ryan Adams news. Someone i love and admire and who’s music has meant so much to me since i was a teenager. This is so awful, how could he behave this way, its shameful 😥😥💔💔💔
— Chris Hardiman ☕🎸🚨🏈📺 (@AJoyForever83) February 13, 2019
Ryan Adams wrote a lot of songs that I love but the situation with him and Phoebe Bridgers always struck me as questionable at best. Glad to see people digging into this https://t.co/rCa3B11sMx
— Anna Hyzy (@annakhyzy) February 13, 2019
For his part, Adams replaced that initial outburst with a series of tweets offering a classic weak apology:
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.
