Billy Corgan has spent his life hiding his cravings

Perhaps the most attentive fans will have noticed it for some time now: if you look at the photos of the Smashing Pumpkinsit turns out that Billy Corgan he is not often photographed in short sleeves. This “dress code”, which leads him to prefer long sleeves, is not just a question of “uniform” typical of the grungy bands of the 90s, but hides something else: what until recently was a real problem for the American musician.

He revealed the truth himself last week in a post that went viral, sharing a photo showing the large “port wine” birthmarks on his left arm and hand, for which he said he was “mercilessly teased” as a child.

He didn’t expect so many people to care so much, and so after that revelation, Billy Corgan (who also announced he’s going to be a dad for the third time) shared more of his thoughts on the matter over the weekend via Instagram.

In a series of videos, the 57-year-old Smashing Pumpkins frontman said he was inspired to talk about his birthmark after stumbling upon the Italian model’s Instagram page Carlotta Bertotti, who has a large birthmark on her face (the two later connected, and Corgan said she sent him a nice letter). She also explained that birthmarks like hers occur when blood vessels don’t form properly in the uterus.

He then continued:

Being born in 1967, I was never in a million years told that such a thing was beautiful or would add to who I was. I have been asked thousands of times—and often very rudely—”Do you have a disease?” “What the hell is wrong with you?” When it’s really cold in Chicago, the birthmark turns dark purple, so people literally come up and say, “I think you should go to the hospital.” “Are you a burn victim?” “Does it hurt?”
When you are young, as everyone knows, everything that separates you from the group is painful. So, from my earliest memories, people made fun of me, teased me, and added all sorts of ideas about what my desire represented.
It’s amazing that something that in my mind has always been negative, in this case has not only become positive in terms of my journey to embrace a part of myself that I’ve always been uncomfortable with. But now I’m getting tons of messages from people who have cravings or have kids with cravings saying “thank you.” It’s the kind of positive affirmation that we need in this culture… I’ve always been reluctant to talk about it because there are people with more difficult situations.

I’m at a point in my life where I don’t need affirmations. That’s nice. But if it’s the kind of thing that maybe makes other young people in particular feel comfortable, that makes me feel good. When you’re a parent—even as an adult—you never stop learning. This week I learned something about myself and the world. I love seeing people of all backgrounds, all shapes and sizes being celebrated for who they are. And that’s very similar, if you can imagine, to the DIY culture, which is what we embraced in the ’80s. That’s what punk rock was about. That’s what post-punk was about: embracing who you are. And yet, after all these years of being called “weird” and all this stuff, I’m still working on fully embracing the way God made me. I hope that helps everyone.