Overnight Twitter has been taken over with allegations made toward music publicist Heathcliff Berru of Life or Death PR and Management, after Brooklyn based musician Amber Coffman of The Dirty Projectors initially Tweeted about her experience with him.
Since posting the initial tweets, Coffman has received an overwhelming amount of support from fellow musicians and music industry professionals, proving there is no tolerance for this kind of behaviour.
Life or Death PR is a prominent PR company, who is home to acts like D’Angelo, Odd Future, Waaves and Speedy Ortiz.
This incident shows how sexism is still prevalent and an issue within the music industry. Coffman’s Tweet’s encouraged others who have been harassed by Berru to come forward, and saw LA musician Beth Martinez share a similar experience.
The tweets led to publicist Judy Silverman of Motormouth Media weighing in and encouraging anyone who experiences any form of harassment to come forward instead of keeping it a secret to prevent it from continually happening with no consequences.
After this story was first published in Brooklyn Magazine Coffman has confirmed that Domino Records and the artist DIIV have discontinued working with Berru and Life or Death. Coffman has also expressed her gratitude for the wide-spread support she has received.
Many women are now following in Coffman’s footsteps and publicly sharing their harassment experiences, which range from being unwarrantedly touched to being roofied.
Heathcliff Berru has now stepped down as CEO of Life or Death, with the company providing the following statement:
