Mandy Moore Says Ryan Adams' "Controlling Behavior" Took a Toll on Her Music Career
Mandy Moore is speaking out about her relationship with musician and ex-husband Ryan Adams, who has been accused of sexual misconduct and career manipulation by multiple women in a new report from The New York Times published Wednesday (February 14. Through his lawyer, Andrew B. Brettler, Adams denies the "extremely serious and outlandish accusations" in the piece.
Moore, who wed Adams in 2009 and finalized their divorce in 2016, accused her ex-husband of psychologically abusing her and stunting her music career. According to the Times:
"They wrote songs together regularly that Adams promised to record, but never did. He booked them time at his studio, only to replace her with other female artists, she said. And he lashed out in ways that Moore came to consider psychologically abusive."
Moore also recalled that Adams told her, "You’re not a real musician, because you don’t play an instrument."
Adams denied the claims through his lawyer, Brettler, who told the Times that Moore's account is "completely inconsistent with his view of the relationship." Brettler added that Adams supported Moore's "well-deserved professional success" and did not stop her from working with other people.
However, Moore told NYT: “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.”
The This Is Us star first met Adams in 2007 when she was 23 years old, NYT reports. Moore released her last album in 2009, shortly before they got married. In 2010, Adams offered to help make her next LP, according to the Times. Moore said he was essentially in control of her music career after her split from her manager and Adams kept her from working with other managers or producers.
Multiple other women also shared stories of their experiences with Adams to The New York Times. A woman named Ava, a fan of Adams, said she began speaking to the musician online when she was 14 years old, and their conversations would sometimes turn sexual. She alleged that one time Adams exposed himself when they talked via video chat.
Adams' lawyer said the singer "does not recall having online communications with anyone related to anything outside of music" and added, "if, in fact, this woman was underage, Mr. Adams was unaware," according to the Times.
Indie singer Phoebe Bridgers told the Times that Adams offered to help her make music and they had a brief romantic relationship. Adams offered her an opening slot on his tour to help push her career forward, but later became "emotionally abusive," the NYT reports. After Bridgers broke things off with him, he revoked her opening slot on his tour, she said.
Adams' lawyer says the singer and Bridgers only had "a brief, consensual fling" and denies sending her flirty texts or withholding her music.
Singer Courtney Jaye told NYT that Adams reached out to her in 2013, offering to collaborate. When they started working together, Adams started commenting on her appearance and "moving in" on her, the Times reports. She said they ended up in bed but did not have sex. However, Adams' lawyer said Jaye and the rock star "never had a writing session where they ended up in bed."
Adams responded to the Times' report on Twitter this evening after it published. "I am not a perfect man and I have made many mistakes," he wrote. "To anyone I have ever hurt, however unintentionally, I apologize deeply and unreservedly."
However, in a follow-up tweet, he denounced the story as "upsettingly inaccurate" and claimed some of the details are "misrepresented" or "outright false." He added, "I would never have inappropriate interactions with someone I thought was underage. Period."
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.
- Ryan Adams (@TheRyanAdams) February 13, 2019
NYT adds that Moore and other women afflicted by relationships with Adams have recently created a support system for each other.
“What you experience with him-the treatment, the destructive, manic sort of back and forth behavior-feels so exclusive,” Moore told the paper. “You feel like there’s no way other people have been treated like this.”
Read The New York Times' full report here.
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