A little less than one year ago singer-songwriter Ryan Adams wrote on Instagram “I have a lot to say. I am going to. Soon.” That day seems to have finally come.
Adams has stayed predominantly mum since the New York Times reported allegations of abuse and sexting with a minor in February 2019. Among the seven women accusing him was singer Phoebe Bridgers and his ex-wife, Mandy Moore.
The singer consequently scrapped a planned U.K. tour and shelved the release of three albums.
Late Friday The Daily Mail published a letter from 45-year-old Adams, in which he expressed remorse and declared his sobriety.
“All I can say is that I’m sorry. It’s that simple,” the artist behind 16 solo albums, three with his previous band Whiskeytown, two books of poetry, and a live album recorded at Carnegie Hall wrote. “This period of isolation and reflection made me realize that I needed to make significant changes in my life.”
“I also understand that there’s no going back,” Adams added.
“What pain was I carrying myself that was so poorly and wrongly being projected onto others?” he asked, in one of the more introspective passages.
For those who have missed Adams’s blend of public radio-friendly Americana, he stated that “music is how I lay my soul bare, and in working through this, I have written enough music to fill half a dozen albums.”
After the Times’s February 2019 report the F.B.I. opened an inquiry into Adams’s communications with an underage fan. At the time, Adams’s lawyer denied that his client “ever engaged in inappropriate online sexual communications with someone he knew was underage.”
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