Jan 19, 2016
Last night, Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors used Twitter as her platform to speak up against Life Or Death PR & Management publicist, Heathcliff Berru, with sexual harassment accusations. Shortly after Amber's tweets went public, many other women within the music industry and outside the music industry publicly responded with their own disturbing stories of Heathcliff.
In a time where we consider our society the most progressive it's ever been, it's also a time where we live in fear of many things. One fear that isn't spoken about freely enough is sexual harassment and how casual it's become. There are many reasons why the abused are afraid to speak up but it's absolutely crucial to listen when a brave victim decides to go against all her/his fears and have a voice.
Speaking out against sexual harassment takes a lot of courage and it's critical that people are held accountable for their filthy and recurrent actions. Hopefully, the more we speak out when we experience these disturbing situations, the more people will pay attention and not dismiss a culture that we should not accept by any means. There is no more time to waste when it comes to understanding how vital it is that we don't ignore this very real and frequent problem.
Even when you feel as though there have been fundamental thoughts/feelings/dignity etc. taken away from you when an incident of abuse happens, it's incredibly important to remember that you still have a voice. You have a justified right to use that voice. And with the internet platform that we have today, the possibility of being heard is tenfold. I stand by Amber Coffman and her courage to come forward and speak up. I can only hope that this further encourages men and woman alike who can relate to such incredibly despicable and revolting situations to find the strength to get help and closure from such events that have become all too common.
https://twitter.com/Amber_Coffman/status/689241020769280000
https://twitter.com/Amber_Coffman/status/689241386038607872
https://twitter.com/Amber_Coffman/status/689243235986702337
https://twitter.com/Amber_Coffman/status/689245788392669184
https://twitter.com/Amber_Coffman/status/689287391081660416
https://twitter.com/Amber_Coffman/status/689287711878860800
https://twitter.com/Amber_Coffman/status/689289076319490049
https://twitter.com/Amber_Coffman/status/689292700076486656
Update 5:10 p.m.:
Life or Death PR has issued the following statement:
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.
The men and women who make up this company do not, and will not, condone or tolerate any conduct described in the on-line postings. Life Or Death is 3 men and 3 women who are committed to promoting art and serving the clients that we're so privileged to represent. We are taking measures to ensure that the alleged behavior did not, and will not, make its way into company operations or impact our commitment to promoting art and assisting our clients.
We are grateful to Heathcliff Berru for all the work he's done to date and his creative vision at the company. We appreciate and support his decision to step down as CEO of Life Or Death.
Image: SaintHeron