Thursday, 12th December 2024

Musician Ryan Adams accused of sexual misconduct

Thursday, 14th February 2019

Grammy-nominated musician Ryan Adams has been accused of sexual misconduct and emotional manipulation by more than half a dozen women, including ex-wife Mandy Moore.

In a report published in The New York Times, multiple people including Phoebe Bridgers, Moore and singer-songwriter Courtney Jaye, have detailed their accounts of their experiences with Adams.

A woman named Ava, who claims she was 14 when she began talking to Adams in 2013, said their conversations turned sexual by 15.

She said Adams, 44, was doing Skype calls and phone sex with her during which he exposed himself.

Over a nine-month communication, Adams promised to help Ava with her career. She claimed he continued sexting her and asking for photographs.

"If people knew they would say I was like R Kelley lol," he wrote in November 2014, when he was 40 and she was 16, according to messages revealed by The Times.

This Is Us actress Mandy Moore also described a pattern of abuse, describing instances of "destructive, manic sort of back and forth behavior" during their six-year marriage.

"Music was a point of control for him," she added, saying the star had belittled her own musical career.

"He would always tell me, 'You're not a real musician, because you don't play an instrument.'"

Adams' lawyer said the star "did not recall having online communications with anyone related to anything outside of music," adding that "if, in fact, this woman was underage, Adams was unaware".

The star, who rose to fame in the early 2000s, has denied the allegations.

"I am not a perfect man and I have made many mistakes," he said in a statement posted on social media.

"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."