Update: According to The New York Times, the FBI is now investigating Ryan Adams over allegations made in a February 13 article from the outlet.
Per the New York Times piece "Ryan Adams Dangled Success. Women Say They Paid a Price," Adams allegedly engaged in sexually explicit communication with a 14-year-old girl, called "Ava" in the article. Now, the FBI has reportedly made the first steps to opening a criminal investigation.
According to The New York Times, the FBI's Crimes Against Children Squad will attempt to interview Ava and obtain messages and other possible evidence about her interaction with Adams. They may also decide to interview Ava's family and friends to corroborate her story.
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Should the FBI find Ava's account credible, they could subpoena both Ava and Adams' cellphone records.
A lawyer for Adams states that he has not been contacted by law enforcement.
Update: In a series of tweets, Ryan Adams has responded to the misconduct allegations detailed in a new New York Times article.
"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."
"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."
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
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
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.
— Ryan Adams (@TheRyanAdams) February 13, 2019
This article was originally posted on February 13 at 5:45 p.m.
Critically beloved singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, who once covered all of Taylor Swift's 1989, has been accused of emotional manipulation and sexual harassment by seven women, according to a report from the New York Times. A much-revered indie rocker, Adams reportedly pursued young female musicians, seemingly out of interest in their careers, only to reject them or stymie their careers when they rejected his sexual advances. He has been accused of harassing a minor, a young woman whom the New York Times is referring to as Ava, online, sending sexually suggestive text messages to her when she was only 15.
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In one message reportedly reviewed by the New York Times, Adams wrote: "If people knew they would say I was like R Kelley lol." The artist has denied these allegations through his lawyer, claiming that online interactions with fans have never been "related to anything outside of music." Pertaining specifically to Ava's accusations, Adams' lawyer told the New York Times that the singer "unequivocally denies that he ever engaged in inappropriate online sexual communications with someone he knew was underage"
In addition, musicians Phoebe Bridgers, Courtney Jaye, and his ex-wife Mandy Moore spoke to the New York Times, recounting their experiences with Adams. Bridgers met Adams at 20 and had a brief relationship with him; she told the Times that he became emotionally abusive, to the point that she worried he wouldn't release the music she had recorded under his label Pax-Am.
Moore, who was married to Adams from 2009 to 2016, claimed that his controlling behaviour — he told her she wasn't a "real musician" and refused to release the songs they wrote together — halted her music career, which has been virtually dormant since the release of her sixth album in 2009. The This Is Us star told the New York Times that she came to consider some of the ways in which Adams "lashed out" during their marriage as "psychologically abusive." Adams' lawyer responded that Moore's claims were "completely inconsistent with his view of the relationship." Moore has previously spoken out about what she called an "unhealthy" marriage to Adams.
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Adams' ex-fiancée Megan Butterworth gave a similar assertion, claiming that when she left Adams, he threatened her with lawsuits and suicide. An additional two women who declined to name themselves out of fear or retribution accused Adams of emotional manipulation and harassment. Adams' lawyer provided the New York Times with statements which varied from outright denial to a much different interpretation of events and interactions.
Wednesday morning, Adams, seemingly aware that the New York Times piece was about to be published, shared a photo of himself with the caption "Let's go." In a since-deleted Tweet, he wrote a message directly to the newspaper:
"Happy Vanetines day @nytimesI know you got lawyers
But do you have the truth on your side. No.
I do.
And you have run out of friends. My folks are NOT your friends.
Run your smear pieceBut the leagal eagles see you. Rats.
I’m fucking taking you down.
Let’s learn I bait."
But do you have the truth on your side. No.
I do.
And you have run out of friends. My folks are NOT your friends.
Run your smear pieceBut the leagal eagles see you. Rats.
I’m fucking taking you down.
Let’s learn I bait."
Refinery29 has reached out to representation for both Moore and Adams for additional comment.