Robbie Williams has sent a lengthy open letter to former Take That manager Nigel Martin-Smith over comments about his struggles with drug addiction.
Both the Rock DJ hitmaker and his ex-manager appear in the new BBC documentary Boybands Forever, discussing the dark side of boybands.
The pair were publicly at odds throughout their time working together, with Robbie infamously leaving the group in 1995 on a less-than-positive note.
Nigel’s comments in the new documentary haven’t gone down well with the Angels singer, who said his ex-manager was denying his ‘trauma’.
‘He’s smart, is Robbie and it’s quite clever,’ Nigel said in the documentary, claiming the singer blamed the band and him for his bad behaviour.
On Instagram, the Better Man star addressed the comments in a surprisingly polite message, opening with: ‘Hope all is good in your world and life is being kind to you.’
After apologising for any hurt Robbie caused at the time, he said he had a ‘deep admiration’ for Nigel’s work and how ‘powerful’ he is but wasn’t going to let some things lie.
Robbie continued: ‘I do however take exception to your version of my truth. In modern parlance, to deny someone’s lived experience these days is called Gaslighting.
‘Your young charge at this time in his life was experiencing his first [mental breakdown]. You didn’t excel in “Man Management” and it was here that, instead of a stern wod and a pointed finger, an arm around the shoulder and a kind word would have been the best tact.
‘It is not okay for me that my trauma at the time being represented as a figment of my imagination or a tool to ingratiate myself with a gullible general public.’
Robbie was ‘equal parts terrified and excited’ to be sharing a screen with Nigel again, however, he appears to feel he was misrepresented by his former manager.
He said: ‘As it happens, it would appear that time has done its thing and I guess the wisdom it brings has taken its mop to a few nooks and crannies here and there. I guess not every nook has been bleached, though.’
In the note, Robbie states they have not spoken since the 90s but hoped that Nigel would have grown in that time and been able to reflect on mistakes made.
He quotes Nigel from the documentary, in which he said Robbie considers him an ‘evil t**t’ and that it was ‘all his fault [Robbie] was behaving like a w**ker’.
The Patience singer responded: ‘My drug taking was never your fault. My response to the warped world that surrounded me is solely my own. How I chose to self-medicate is and was something that I will be monitoring and dealing with for the whole of my life. It’s part of my makeup and I would have the same malady had I been a taxi driver.
‘I just got there quicker due to having the finances while trying in vain to counteract the turbulence of pop stardom’s matrix-bending washing machine.’
Robbie explains that a ‘pattern’ where young performers join a boyband but become ‘sick’ after their rise to fame.
‘Some are fortunate through a series of self-examinations and help to overcome their experience,’ he wrote. ‘Some never quite manage to untangle the mess of the wreckage of the past.’
In a brutal reminder, Robbie shared some of the mental health issues faced by band members including suicidal ideation, eating disorders, and addictions.
He notes that ‘whatever’ the impact was on Jason was ‘so painful he can’t even be part of it’ anymore.
Robbie continued: ‘I’m not breaking anyone’s anonymity by sharing the side effects of boyband dysphoria that relate to just us lads. I will also remind you that the person acting like a “w***er” was 16 when he joined the band and 21 when he left. That was the last time I saw you.
‘I hope I have more grace and understanding when and if any of my own four children at such a vulnerable age behave in the same manner.’
In a direct shot at Nigel, the Feel hitmaker said he does ‘not come across as a relatable character’ and needs a ‘glow-up where redeemable features are concerned’.
He added: ‘It’s OK to admit your shortcomings. No one is going to sue you for not knowing or understand[ing] the psychological effects everything was having on everyone.’
Robbie signed off by wishing the best on Nigel and asking fans to treat his former manager with respect and care.
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