Former Take That star Robbie Williams has penned an open letter to his former manager Nigel Martin-Smith to insist he never blamed him for his drug-taking and personal problems during his early years in the hit 90s band.
In a new BBC documentary series called Boybands Forever, Martin-Smith appeared to suggest that Williams blamed him for his troubles, but the much-loved singer has since declared his substance abuse issues would have happened even if he was working as a “taxi driver”.
Taking to Instagram, the 50-year-old singer, who recently announced a gig at Dublin’s Croke Park next year, set the record straight, admitting how he “chose to self-medicate” will stay with him for the rest of his life.
“Hey Nige. Hope all is good in your world and life is being kind to you. Just thought I’d jot down a few thoughts about our appearance together as talking heads on the BBC doc ‘Boybands Forever’.
“I was equal parts terrified and excited to be sharing a screen with you again. Excited to see where we are on this journey and terrified in case old enemies would be triggered and I’d still be in a place of hurt or fear.
“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.”
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The Let Me Entertain You star went on to paraphrase Martin-Smith’s words in the documentary, writing: “[Nigel said] He’s smart, is Robbie and it’s quite clever, you know, ‘I did drugs because I was in this band where I couldn’t have girlfriends or I couldn’t go out. That evil t**t Nigel, it’s his fault that I’m behaving like a w*****’.”
Williams further hit back at the claims, writing: “Allow me to respond to your assertion. 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 make-up and I would have the same malady had I been a taxi driver.
“I just got there quicker due to having the finances whilst trying in vain to counteract the turbulence of pop stardom’s matrix-bending washing machine.”