Robbie Williams has hit out at former Take That manager Nigel Martin-Smith over claims he made regarding the singer’s drug abuse in a new documentary, Boybands Forever.
This comes after both had appeared in the first episode of the three part BBC documentary, which aired over the weekend (November 16).
The documentary focused on the struggles members of boybands Westlife, Take That and Five faced at the height of their fame.
In this documentary, Martin-Smith who managed Take That during the 1990s, while Williams was part of the band, claimed that when the former bandmember was addicted to drugs, he was “smart and quite clever” to blame his addiction on being “in this band where he couldn’t have girlfriends or couldn’t go out”.
He also alleged that Williams acted like a “w*****” and that he was made out to be “evil”.
“jot down a few thoughts”
In an open letter shared to Instagram, Robbie Williams addressed these claims made by Martin-Smith.
“Hope all is good in your world and life is being kind to you,” he began. “Just thought I’d jot down a few thoughts about our appearance together as talking heads on the boyband doc”.
“I was equal parts terrified and excited to be sharing a screen with you again. Excited to see where we both are on this journey and terrified in case old emotions would be triggered and I’d still be in a place of anger, hurt of fear”.
Williams also wrote: “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”.
“allow me to respond to your assertion” – Williams on Martin-Smith
Addressing Martin-Smith’s claims, Robbie Williams also had this to say.
“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”, he said.
Williams continued: “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”, he also added.
“wreckage of the past”
In his letter, Williams stated: “If you are following the story closely, you can’t help but notice a pattern emerge. Boys join a boyband. The band becomes huge. Boys get sick. Some are fortunate through a series of self-examinations and help to overcome their experience. Some never quite manage to untangle the mess of the wreckage of the past”.
“I’m not breaking anyone’s anonymity by sharing the side effects of boyband dysphoria that relate to just us lads,” he continued, before detailing the struggles his bandmates had. Howard Donald became suicidal when Take That first split up, Mark Owen deal with addiction, Gary Barlow had bulimia and for Jason Orange, “whatever effect Take That had on him is so painful he can’t even be part of it”.
“I will also remind you that the person acting like a ‘wanker’ was 16 when he joined the band and 21 when he left. That was the last time I saw you,” Williams scribed.
“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”.
On Martin Smith, Williams had this message: “Nige, you continue to not come across as a relatable character and could do with a glow-up where redeemable features are concerned. Therefore you play into the narrative you don’t want for yourself”.
Signing off, Williams added: “Nigel, I do love you, but sadly, it’s also true that I don’t like you. The two I am coming to find aren’t mutually exclusive”.
See the post in full here.
Last week, Robbie Williams also spoke about touring at the same time as his old nemesis Oasis. Find out more here.
