Mandy Moore comes forward about years of abuse, manipulation from her ex-husband Ryan Adams

Feb 15, 2019

Mandy Moore is speaking out against her ex-husband, Ryan Adams, who has been accused of manipulating and harassing aspiring female artists.

Moore told The New York Times that her ex-husband exhibited controlling behavior. She said she empathizes with the women who came forward about Adams’ abuse.

• “Music was a point of control for him,” Moore said. “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.”

Context: Seven women and more than a dozen associates told the Times that Adams had a “history of taking advantage of championing, manipulating and harassing female aspiring artists, including having phone sex and exchanging graphic texts with an underage girl,” according to USA Today.

• “What you experience with him — the treatment, the destructive, manic sort of back-and-forth behavior — feels so exclusive,” Moore said. “You feel like there’s no way other people have been treated like this.”

• She said Adams wouldn’t treat her like a real artist, too.

• “He would always tell me, ‘You’re not a real musician because you don’t play an instrument.'”

Moore shared a photo on Instagram where she preached about the importance of speaking up about abuse and sexual assault.

• “Speaking your truth can be painful and triggering but it’s always worth it,” she wrote in the photo caption. “My heart is with all women who have suffered any sort of trauma or abuse. You are seen and heard. #sisterhoodforever.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt2eP5Jguy4/?utm_source=ig_embed

Adams denied the allegations in a statement released to social media.

• “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.”

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

Bigger picture: Several female artists said Wednesday and Thursday that this story is important so female artists feel comfortable coming forward, BBC News reports.

• “This is an important article,” singer-songwriter Vanessa Carlton wrote on Twitter. “This also cracks the door on more like him in our industry. There are more. We’re all fed up.”