Amber Coffman, vocalist for the Dirty Projectors, has accused Life or Death Public Relations and Management CEO Heathcliff Berru of sexual misconduct via twitter. On Monday Jan. 18, Coffman told her story through a series of tweets. She accused Berru of sexual assault, tweeting, “I’ve been told many women have had scary stories about him for years but are scared to speak up.” She continued to tweet, directly stating that “It was Heathcliff Berru, at Life or Death PR and MGMT.” The company represents dozens of clients, such as Earl Sweatshirt, Odd Future, Wavves, and DIIV.
Coffman’s tweets instantly caught attention, spurring other female artists to tweet their support, and some shared their own personal experience with the publicist. Bethany Cosentino, lead singer of American rock band Best Coast, tweeted, “Good for you for doing this. I was too freaked out to ever say anything. Seriously he’s not a good person on any level.” She responded to other tweeters, stating “I’m happy it’s being brought to light.” Tearist vocalist, Yasmine Kittles, also shared her experience with Coffman through twitter, stating that her manager told her that if she cared about her bad“we are going to have to get over that, [weren’t they]?”
Following the news, many artists dropped the company. Lo-fi rock band DIIV tweeted, “DIIV will no longer be working with Life or Death PR.” Sadie Dupuis, female vocalist of Speedy Ortiz, said, “[It] doesn’t feel personally ok to work [with] a company built by an attempted rapist.” Wavves dropped the PR company as well.
The same Monday evening, Life or Death PR issued a statement regarding the incident, saying, “Life or Death has a zero tolerance policy for the type of conduct alleged in today’s on-line postings. We take these allegations very seriously.” Heathcliff Berru released his own statement via LA Weekly. “I have been fighting a losing battle against drugs and alcohol for many years,” he states. He stepped down as CEO, and the president of the company announced on Wednesday evening that the remainder of the Life or Death staff have left the company.
Following the incident, an anonymous blog was created for women who have been a victim of sexual assault. The creator of the blog says, “As long as the harassers are not acknowledged for who they actually are, their behaviour is likely to continue.” Unfortunately, sexual assault is not uncommon in workplaces, especially in industries such as the music business. In an industry dominated by males, women have a hard time coming forward, and the incidents are left unnoticed and untaken care of. Amber Coffman’s bravery sparked a movement of women speaking out towards these issues.