FBI reportedly investigating Ryan Adams's communication with underage fan
The FBI is opening an inquiry into whether Ryan Adams committed a crime by engaging in sexually explicit communications with an underage fan, according to the New York Times.
On Wednesday, seven women and more than a dozen associates accused the 44-year-old singer-songwriter of sexual misconduct and/or emotional abuse in a Times report. One of the women who came forward was a girl named Ava, alleging she communicated with Adams when she was 15 and 16 and he was 39 and 40. The Times reviewed 3,217 text messages purportedly sent over this nine-month period. Although they never met, Adams allegedly sent Ava sexual messages and exposed himself during a Skype exchange. Ava admitted to lying about her age and the producer denied Wednesday he “ever engaged in inappropriate online sexual communications with someone he knew was underage.”
A law enforcement official revealed to the Times that FBI agents in the bureau’s New York office took the first steps to open a criminal investigation on Thursday. Adams’s attorney told the paper he had not been contacted by officials.
“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,” Adams said in a statement Wednesday. “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.”
He continued, “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.”
Adams’s ex-wife, Mandy Moore, was one of the women to go on record in the Times report.
The day after it was published, Moore had no regrets about having done so.
“Speaking your truth can be painful and triggering but it’s always worth it,” the This Is Us actress wrote on Instagram. “My heart is with all women who have suffered any sort of trauma or abuse. You are seen and heard.”
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