Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has commented for the first time on D’arcy Wretzky sharing text messages with Alternative Nation. He told the New York Times in a new interview that he had not seen D’arcy in 19 years and he called the exposure of their correspondence “horrifying,” though he declined to get into the specifics of her accusations.
“I think what she did demonstrates why she couldn’t be involved,” Mr. Corgan said. “I was vulnerable and shared things and trusted that there was a reason to give it a chance, despite plenty of empirical evidence that that was not a wise decision.” That bridge is now burned “forever,” he added.
He also discussed reuniting with Iha and Chamberlin.
“It’s a bit akin to trying to rekindle a romance almost two decades later,” Mr. Corgan said, away from his bandmates. “The love is there, but, you know, is the language? Is the magic there?”
He also discussed how his public personality has affected the band over the years.
“If I kept my mouth shut, and if I kept my band together,” Mr. Corgan, who wore silver Gucci high-tops and a trucker hat, said, “we’d be playing a lot bigger venues and we would be a lot more successful, and we’d be in somebody’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”
Corgan said that, for a time, “the controversy worked to our favor” and noted that the Pumpkins pulled off five world tours and produced some 200 recorded songs. ‘So how dysfunctional were we, really?'”
D’arcy discussed the original lineup reunion falling apart in an Alternative Nation interview last month.
“It would have been awesome. Almost nobody ever has that, if you’ve seen The Princess Bride where they talk about one couple in ten lifetimes doesn’t get the shot at true love. Almost nobody ever finds people, that when we would jam, and we would click, it was just magic. The feeling was just amazing, that’s a better drug than anything.
Music has always been a drug for me. I’ve done a lot in my life, and beyond excelled at everything I’ve ever done, and I’m like, I’m done with it when it comes to a lot of things. But music is the only thing that I’ve ever stuck with. Billy just killed it for me for such a long time, I couldn’t listen to the radio, watch TV, go to movies. I was so burned out and traumatized, and I hated myself for giving into him. I know now that I really did the best that I could, and better than anybody else could do.”
She also said, “He’s not going to forgive me. He wanted me to do what he wanted me to do, and he’s furious at me for telling the truth. He calls it ‘your’ truth: ‘You should have told people within the context of the band.’ What the fuck does that mean? I know what it means, toe the party line. ‘We have to be on the same page.’ Just fucking come out and say it, you don’t want me to tell people that I’m not going to be the bass player.”
