Billy Corgan Reacts To Being Called ‘Ugly’

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Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan discussed his looks being insulted on Spotify for Artists’ Best Advice podcast.

On the “brand” image of being a rock star versus staying true to oneself:

Corgan: “For whatever reason, when I was younger, I was not considered good looking. So, my looks were not part of anybody’s formula as far as the success of the band. It was never talked about. Photographers would try to stick me in the back of photo shoots with the band and put other people [in front of me]. I swear to God… Well, you know, things change. Now the vampire look is in.

But at the time, I was not considered a good-looking person. And people told me this — it’s not like I figured this out. People would tell me, ‘Oh, you’re just not good looking.’ Like it was bad for my career.

So I had to make sort of critical judgments which is A) that’s really not gonna stop me or that’s not that important; B) I’m gonna be myself; if I’m a weirdo or a vampire or whatever, I’m just gonna be myself. And now, here we are 20-something years later, and people all the time talk to me about the way I looked, how it influenced them.”