Don McLean has insisted he's "not a villain" in the wake of his arrest on domestic violence charges.
Don McLean
The 70-year-old singer was arrested earlier this month (18.01.16) and was taken into custody and transported to Knox County Jail in Rockland, Maine, after officers were called to his property in Camden, Maine, in the early hours of the morning.
Following the arrest, Don's wife Patrisha, to whom he has been married for 30 years, took out a restraining order against her spouse after claiming he had threatened to kill her during the incident.
Don posted a lengthy statement on his Twitter page on Thursday (20.01.16) in an attempt to set the record straight about just what happened.
He wrote: "This last year and especially now have been hard emotional times for my wife, my children and me. What is occurring is the very painful breakdown of an almost 30 year relationship.
"Our hearts are broken and we must carry on. There are no winners or losers but I am not a villain.
"I may never recover from this but I will try and hope to continue to entertain you all as I always have. I ask God to give us the strength to find new happiness and I hope people will realise that this will all be resolved but I hope I will not be judged in this frantic media environment."
'American Pie', penned about the tragic deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper in a plane crash, was a huge hit for Don. He has collected an impressive 40 gold and platinum records throughout his career - mostly down to that one track.
He still performs on occasion, with his last show taking place at the Maine Lobster Festival back in August.
Don has a court date set for February 22.
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