Billy Corgan apparently knew his explanation for marrying a woman 25 years his junior might upset some folks, but he chose to go ahead and give it anyway.
During an Oct. 22 appearance on the New York Times' Popcast, the 59-year-old Smashing Pumpkins frontman opened up about his relationship with his wife, 33-year-old fashion designer Chloe Mendel, and why he believes their age gap has actually worked to his "advantage."
The pair began dating in 2012, when Corgan was 44 and Mendel was 19, had three kids together, got engaged in 2022, and officially married in September 2023.
His logic involved some sweeping generalizations about women his own age. When asked about being from different generations, Corgan joked, "I don't want to make all the feminists mad," before launching into an explanation about how differently women born in the 1990s experienced feminism compared to previous generations.
He continued, "I think a lot of women born in the '90s, given the societal changes, given the correct and proper rise of feminism as a way to balance properly a lot of things."
He admitted that he had encountered a "lot of broken women along the way" and "was shocked at the stories I would hear of what they've been through," but added that "there was nothing wrong with them" before invoking the somewhat self-reflective phrase, "two wrongs don't make a right."
"Because so many women of our generation were going through that without a lot of help and coming out of a lot of abuse, it was harder to put those pieces together if you're broken and they’re broken," Corgan said.
According to Corgan, his wife Chloe Mendel was different. "When I met my wife — and having that gap — she just wasn’t affected by those same politics," he told hosts Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli. "She just had a different version. She had a different sense of self-confidence."
He went on to suggest that her relative lack of life experience was a benefit to their relationship, explaining, "Her youth was an advantage because she hadn't been wounded like so many people are — because you just go through life and you get wounded."
Corgan added that Mendel was at the time "really open to love and the possibility," and that she had "decided not to judge me for who I was."
While the musician was ostensibly praising his relationship with his wife, his comments drew backlash online. Many felt that Corgan implied that dating someone significantly younger worked out because she hadn't experienced the same difficulties as women of his generation.
Among those criticizing Corgan was 50-year-old Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis, who simply commented "ghoul drool" on the New York Times' Popcast Instagram clip of the interview. She then cross-posted a screenshot of her comment to her X account.
Skin, the 59-year-old frontwoman of British rock band Skunk Anansie, also hopped into the comments to write: "Oooooo love you Billy (I really do) but this ain't it!" and pushed back on the idea that women her age are "broken."
Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum simply commented "No" while electronic musician Hiroko Yamamura wrote, "I wish I didn't see this." And alt rock band wilt reacted with "please tell me this is elaborate satire."
It wasn't just musicians who had something negative to say about Corgan's comments. Writers Hollie McNish, Lachrista Greco, Tetyana Denford, Zeba Blay, and artists Petra Collins, Jen Stark, and Maayan Zilberman all chimed in with disappointed reactions.
But not everyone understood the backlash against Corgan's age-gap comments. On Reddit, multiple people pointed out that the couple is "two adults in a consensual relationship" and that Corgan's wife is now in her 30s and "old enough to know what she's getting into."
Another wrote, "her body her choice," with one user calling critics "bitter losers," adding that "seems like he and his partner are happy."
Comments