Mandy Moore Says Ex-Husband Ryan Adams Was 'Controlling' and Psychologically Abusive
Seven women, including Mandy Moore, Phoebe Bridgers, and Courtney Jaye, and more than a dozen associates have spoken to the New York Times about how musician and songwriter Ryan Adams and his "pattern of manipulative behavior in which he dangled career opportunities while simultaneously pursuing female artists for sex."
Moore alleged that Adams used his position in the industry to try to control her career in music and hinder it while they were together. The two met in 2007, and Moore was married to him from 2009 to 2016. “Music was a point of control for him,” she said.
Moore was transitioning out of teen pop stardom when she met Adams at 23. Moore told the Times that he offered to work with her on a new album and discouraged her from working with other producers or managers-a move that essentially left him in charge of her career.
According to the Times, "he lashed out in ways that Moore came to consider psychologically abusive." Moore did not release a new album after her first year of marriage to him.
“His controlling behavior essentially did block my ability to make new connections in the industry during a very pivotal and potentially lucrative time-my entire mid-to-late 20s,” Moore said.
Adams, through his lawyer Andrew B. Brettler, denied Moore’s characterization of their relationship, calling it “completely inconsistent with his view of [it]." He added that he was supportive of her “well-deserved professional success.”
Moore and the six other women recently connected over their experiences with Adams. They spoke out in the hopes of protecting others and moving forward, they told the outlet.
On Twitter this evening, Adams wrote an 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...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."
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