Ryan Adams “shouldn’t be under #MeToo,” ‘American Psycho’ author says

American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis has spoken about how Ryan Adams was portrayed in the media after recent abuse allegations regarding the musician.

Earlier this year, the New York Times published a report featuring the accounts of multiple women, including Mandy Moore, Phoebe Bridgers, who say Adams abused them. 

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The abuse allegations range from psychological manipulation to sexual misconduct.

After the allegations, Adams put his album on hold and canceled his upcoming tour dates.

The cancellation came not long after Ryan Adams’ guitarist and former tour manager weighed in on the abuse allegations. They showed their support for the multiple women who came forward.

Now, Ellis has come forward to say he was “haunted” by the way NYT portrayed the musician in their article. 

“I just worry sometimes that the best intentions can get weaponized and you get a lot of people who are thrown under the truck who I don’t know if they really deserve to be there,” Ellis told The Irish Times.

“I am haunted by the way the indie musician Ryan Adams was portrayed in a New York Times piece that put him under the #MeToo banner because he liked to flirt with girls and promise them record contracts of they could play his records if they flirted with him.”

He also said the story belonged “in the National Enquirer” and commented on the #MeToo era as a whole.

“This (case) shouldn’t be under #MeToo — just as much Joe Biden shouldn’t be connected to #MeToo,” he said.

What we know about the allegations against Ryan Adams so far:

In February, the NYT gave women a platform to come forward about their alleged abusive relationships with the singer-songwriter. 

Alongside the many women to speak to the Times was 20-year-old “Ava,” who was only 14 at the time Adams began corresponding with her. Now, the FBI is looking into this specific incident of abuse and has made the first move to open a criminal investigation.

Adams has since denied the allegations against him in both the story and on Twitter.

Shortly after, Moore shared that their “unhealthy dynamic” stunted her career.

“I was living my life for him, I had no sense of self,” Moore says in a podcast with Marc Maron. “I felt like I was drowning. It was so untenable and unsustainable and it was so lonely. I was so sad. I was lonely with him.”

Since the allegations arose, multiple stations have taken Adams’ music out of rotation.

“We pulled all of his music today, which was a difficult decision,” a programmer says to Billboard. “On the one hand, I believe in innocent until proven guilty, but on the other hand, in the court of public opinion, he has already been convicted. And public opinion is what impacts our listeners.”

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