Multiple women have accused singer-songwriter Ryan Adams of emotional and verbal abuse and harassment, the New York Times has reported.

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Seven women and more than a dozen associates of Adams described a “pattern of manipulative behavior in which Adams dangled career opportunities while simultaneously pursuing female artists for sex”, the newspaper wrote. The story included allegations of a young female fan who said she had an online relationship with the singer when she was 15 and 16, which included “graphic texting” and a video call in which Adams “exposed himself during phone sex”.

The singer and actor Mandy Moore, Adams’s ex-wife, also told the newspaper he was psychologically abusive: “He would always tell me, ‘You’re not a real musician, because you don’t play an instrument.’”

After the article was published, Adams, 44, tweeted that the “picture that this article paints is upsettingly inaccurate”. He added: “Some of its details are misrepresented; some are exaggerated; some are outright false. I would never have inappropriate interactions with someone I though [sic] was underage. Period.”

He said: “I am not a perfect man and I have made many mistakes. To anyone I have ever hurt, however unintentionally, I apologize deeply and unreservedly.”

Andrew Brettler, Adams’s attorney, told the newspaper that the singer did not recall the exchanges with the young woman, who is now 20. Brettler said: “Mr Adams unequivocally denies that he ever engaged in inappropriate online sexual communications with someone he knew was underage.”

Through his attorney, Adams, who has released 16 albums, told the New York Times he did not have the power to make or break careers and categorically denied the “extremely serious and outlandish accusations”. His lawyer said he recalled the interactions with the women differently and referred to some of the claims as “grousing by disgruntled individuals” who were trying to harm him, the paper reported.

The newspaper reported that in text messages, Adams repeatedly questioned Ava, the young fan, about her age, and that she would sometimes say she was older than she was. The paper said he did not, however, seem convinced about her age, and that they continued sexual conversations.

“I would get in trouble if someone knew we talked like this,” Adams allegedly wrote to Ava in November 2014 when he had just turned 40 and she had just turned 16. The New York Times identified Ava by her middle name and said the two never met in person.

“I never see pics of you anymore,” Adams also allegedly wrote in 2014. Days later, the paper reported, he said: “If people knew they would say I was like R Kelley lol.”

The paper quoted another text that said: “Tell me that your mom is not gonna kill me if she finds out we even text.”

The musician Phoebe Bridgers also accused Adams of emotionally abusive behavior, saying that after they began a whirlwind romance, he started “barraging her with texts, insisting that she prove her whereabouts, or leave social situations to have phone sex, and threatening suicide if she didn’t reply immediately”, the report said.

Bridgers said that after she broke off the relationship, he became evasive about releasing the music they had recorded together and rescinded an offer to have her open his upcoming concerts.

Adams, through his lawyer, disputed Bridgers’ description of their relationship, calling it a “brief, consensual fling”, and saying he never told her he would withhold her songs, the paper said.

Moore told the paper that they wrote songs together that Adams promised to record, but never did. She alleged that he booked time for them at the studio, but would then replace her with other female artists.

“Music was a point of control for him,” Moore said.

Adams called Moore’s characterization of their time together “completely inconsistent with his view of the relationship” and said he was supportive of her “well-deserved professional success”, the paper reported.

Megan Butterworth, Adams’s ex-fiancée, also said the singer was controlling and emotionally abusive – behavior that Adams disputed, the New York Times wrote.

In a response to the Guardian’s inquiry on Wednesday, Brettler sent the statement Adams also tweeted, which said: “As someone who has always tried to spread joy through my music and my life, hearing that some people believe I caused them pain saddens me greatly. I am resolved to work to be the best man I can be. And I wish everyone compassion, understanding and healing.”