In February, the New York Times published a lengthy account of Ryan Adams’s actions around women, which included descriptions of patterns of abuse and his lecherous correspondence with a 16-year-old high school student, which included Adams writing at one point, “If people knew they would say I was like R Kelley lol.”
The music industry’s reaction was quick: other musicians shared their experience with Adams’s bad behavior, the planned release of Adams’s then-forthcoming album was shelved and a tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland was canceled.
Now, Adams has responded to the accusations of abuse with a cryptic Instagram post, which covers a lot of ground while simultaneously reading like a prelude to a much longer statement to come.
I have a lot to say. I am going to. Soon.
Because the truth matters.
It’s what matters most.
I know who I am. What I am.
It’s time people know.
Past time.
Over the course of the post, he also references the death of his brother and his experience with Ménière’s Disease, while also suggesting that a return to playing live is forthcoming, referencing a desire “to go play have some great shows and put out these badass records.”
The tone of the post is wide-ranging and sometimes contradictory. Towards the end of it, Adams also writes, “Believe Women. Believe Truth. But never give up on being part of solutions, and healing.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0ITVIGpoJl/?igshid=ge6v2s07i1d2
Adams’s Instagram feed, which has been dormant since February, has seen a flurry of activity in the last 12 hours, including some song clips and — on the less contrite or contemplative side — an image of Whitesnake’s self-titled album captioned, “Perfect Friday jams.” This statement suggests something new is coming, possibly a more official response to the accusations; based on this post, it’s difficult to gauge what its tone might be.
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