In an effort In an effort to embrace and participate in body positive movements, Smashing Pumpkins member Billy Corgan revealed the wine-colored marks he's had since he was a child.
Corgan has rarely spoken publicly about his birthmarks, but he was inspired by model and influencer Carlotta Bertotti, who has a birthmark on her face. “I’m a fan of the body positivity movement because at the end of the day it’s about celebrating what makes us ‘us,’ so as you can see, here’s a beautiful young woman (@carlotta_bertotti) with a birthmark who has gracefully embraced her ‘difference,’” Corgan wrote on Instagram.
“I have tried my whole life to hide my red wine-colored birthmarks, because I was mercilessly teased for them as a child,” Corgan continued. “So much so that people who have known me for a decade were shocked when they finally ‘saw’ them.”
The Smashing Pumpkins singer said the mark on his face causes people to stop him in the street, not because they recognize him, but because they are worried he may have a problem that requires immediate medical attention.
“It’s a very positive message for today,” Corgan concluded. “Whoever you are, I hope you find peace with who you are because I want to know only that person and no one else.”
“Port-wine stains”—also known as “nail-inflamed nevus”—are permanent birthmarks that appear on newborns and may “become darker and more prominent or bumpy over time” (according to the Cleveland Clinic). These spots come from “small blood vessels under the skin that have formed abnormally” and expanded more than usual, but scientists still aren’t sure why they expand.
Corgan was perhaps most notable for showing his birthmark in wine on the cover of his 2005 debut solo album, The Embraced Futurewhich includes a photo of him framing his face with his hands. However, there are very few interviews in which he has spoken about the label. Starla.org, a Smashing Pumpkins fan site, has an archived interview Corgan did in 1995 in which he discusses the label while talking about his childhood and feeling like a “freak.”
“I have a really big birthmark on my left hand, which obviously isn’t that big of a deal as an adult, but as a child it feels like you have a completely deformed arm,” he said. “It didn’t limit my functionality at all, but I was treated almost like a paraplegic. So, it was kind of weird and kind of pernicious. I have a brother who has a form of Down syndrome, so I have a lot of empathy for what people with bigger issues go through, but for me it was weird, because I felt like I was normal — and for all intents and purposes I was — but still, I was kind of ostracized because of this deformity. Again, I’ve always been weird, there’s no getting away from it.”
Corgan and the Pumpkins release their thirteenth studio album, Aguri Mori MeiIn the past month, the band has been on a long North American tour, mainly supporting Green Day on their stadium tour, with concert dates scheduled through the end of September.
