Mandy Moore is speaking out after her ex-husband Ryan Adams recently penned a public apology over a year after she made allegations of emotional abuse against him. The This Is Us actress, 36, was asked about the songwriter’s apology during a television interview with Today‘s Hoda Kotb on July 6, where she discussed her new album, Silver Landings.
Mandy Moore talks about her ex-husband Ryan Adams’ public apology over the weekend regarding allegations of abuse. pic.twitter.com/MQ8j2nvY2L
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 6, 2020
“Do you believe he’s changed?” Hoda asked, referencing Ryan’s open letter, which was published by DailyMail on Friday, July 3. In the essay, Ryan wrote in part, “There are no words to express how bad I feel about the ways I’ve mistreated people throughout my life and career.” Ryan also noted in the letter that he’s sober.
“Um, you know, it’s challenging because I feel like in many ways I’ve said all I want to say about him and that situation, but, um, I find it curious that someone would make a public apology, but not do it privately,” Mandy said, appearing confused. “I am speaking for myself but, I have not heard from him and I’m not looking for an apology necessarily,” she continued, noting, “But, I do find it curious that someone would do an interview about it, without actually making amends privately.”
Elsewhere in the letter, Ryan vowed to be a better man. “Realizing the consequences of my actions, I took a hard look inwards and sought to find the truth behind them,” he explained. “I made a promise to myself that no matter what it took, I would get to the root of these issues and finally start to fix myself so I could be a better friend, a better partner, and a better man overall.”
Mandy filed for divorce from Ryan in 2015 after six years together, and their divorce was finalized in 2016.
Last February, the New York Times posted an exposé that claimed Ryan allegedly contacted several female musicians in hopes of working with them, “while simultaneously pursuing female artists for sex.” Seven women — including Mandy Moore — spoke to the Times and made various claims of harassment and emotional abuse against the seven-time Grammy nominee, Ryan.
At the time, Mandy alleged that Ryan promised to help with her music career after they wed in 2009 — but instead, the singer alleged that he was “psychologically abusive” to her. “He would always tell me, ‘You’re not a real musician, because you don’t play an instrument,” Mandy told the Times. She also claimed, “His controlling behavior essentially did block my ability to make new connections in the industry during a very pivotal and potentially lucrative time — my entire mid-to-late 20s.”
Through his attorney Andrew Brettler, Ryan said Mandy’s claim was “completely inconsistent with his view of the relationship,” and that he was supportive of her “well-deserved professional success.” On the same day the Times article was published (February 13, 2019), Ryan took to Twitter to deny the accusations made about him. He wrote at the time: “The picture that this article paints is upsettingly inaccurate.”
The newspaper claimed that the interviews with the seven were “corroborated” by family members or friends “who were present at the time,” in addition to messages from Ryan.
Mandy has since moved on with Taylor Goldsmith — frontman of the indie rock band Dawes — who popped the question on September 11, 2017. Mandy and Taylor said “I do” just over a year later in a small backyard ceremony at their LA home on November 18, 2018. At the time, a source close to Mandy told HollywoodLife that the wedding was exactly what the singer had always dreamed of.
“Mandy’s wedding was stunning and the perfect reflection of her boho chic style… She had the ceremony in her backyard in Pasadena and the reception was a few miles away at The Fig House. There was no sit-down dinner, it was a very informal vibe and most of the action was outdoors,” the insider said at the time, describing, “There were little white lights strung through the trees and dancing under the stars, everyone said how magical it was.”