OG Smashing Pumpkins Bassist D’arcy Wretzky Rips Into Billy Corgan Following Reunion Snub

UPDATE: The Smashing Pumpkins Announce Long-Rumoured Reunion Tour

ORIGINAL STORY: Things have turned rotten in The Smashing Pumpkins reunion camp.

In the latest chapter of the unfolding saga, OG bassist D’arcy Wretzky has given her first media interview in 20-years in the wake of her being shunted out of the band’s reunion plans, and used it to let rip on frontman Billy Corgan.

ICYMI: Wretzky recently leaked alleged texts from Corgan about the band’s reunion plans, in which he reassured her that she’d be involved, only to later renege on the offer and claim that the other members didn’t want her around.

It followed the Pumpkins’ initial claim that Wretzky opted out of the reunion herself, alleging that she’d “repeatedly been invited out to play with the group, participate in demo sessions, or at the very least, meet face-to-face,” but that “she always deferred”.

Now, speaking with Alternative Press, the OG bassist has unleashed hell upon her old bandmates and — in particular — Billy Corgan.

Here are some of the most salient quotes from the lengthy chat:

“Billy demands 150% loyalty from everyone, but gives none.”

“He’s always been so insecure, and jealous. He’s too insecure to do his own solo thing, but wanting to take credit for everything.”

“We were never friends.”

“When Billy fired me, James went along with him, because he said he thought that’s what I wanted. James just needs to grow a spine, Jesus.”

“Going in the studio with the band was always a fucking nightmare. I’ve been in the studio before with a different band I was in, and it was awesome and so much fun. I’ve toured with other bands, and it’s been fun. It was always just awful. When we were recording Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness in Atlanta I had a miscarriage because of the stress. Nobody knows that, except for my sister and Kerry Brown, my ex-husband. The band doesn’t know that, nobody knows that. The stress was so much that I had a miscarriage. It was very traumatic.

“There’s so much ugliness. Billy loved to humiliate people and shame people in front of other people. It was incredibly abusive, and I was the only one who would fight back. I think he and Jimmy got in a couple fights, and he and James maybe five, but with he and I it was screaming matches all the time. I just got to the point where I couldn’t fight anymore, and I needed to leave.”

“I wasn’t aware of a lot of the crazy stuff [about Billy], like he supports Trump. What? The shapeshifting thing, I honestly think he may have a brain tumour. He’s always been insufferable.”

“When it comes to money, he’s just disgusting. We almost immediately started talking about a reunion [when we got back in touch in 2016], because he said to me: ‘Well, maybe you know, and maybe you don’t, but with this wrestling thing I kind of got myself a bit into a bit of a hole.’ That was one of the first things he said to me, it was like the second conversation we had, but we didn’t want to do the ‘reunion.’ We both wanted to do the band again, be a band again, not just do a reunion. Billy always said, ‘Oh, I’ll never do just a reunion and play the oldies just for money.’ That’s exactly what it is now.”

“I would have really loved to [write and record with the other 3 OG Pumpkins]. At one point Billy said that Jimmy was going to come over to his house and write some stuff. I always said, ‘I’d really love to do that too,’”

“It was just unbelievable, really just disgusting. The fucking nerve, and then for him to come back and say, ‘Well, we haven’t seen you in this long, and you haven’t done this, and you couldn’t even make it to this. Everyone has shown up, and you didn’t?’ How could I, I didn’t even know you were there?”

“[Billy’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.”

“It took me a long time to not care, and not hate him. Now I don’t hate him, I’m back to where I was at the beginning. I laugh at his antics, and I’m going to go about my own life, but I don’t feel sorry for him. I do think he needs to get an MRI though.”

It’s a very lengthy, interesting read and you can check out the full thing here.

Alleged Text Messages Between Billy Corgan & D’Arcy Wretzky

(Source: Alternative Nation)

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