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.”
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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