On the afternoon of January 18, Amber Coffman, vocalist for the band Dirty Projectors, mustered up the courage to publicly share an incident when she was sexually molested by a “well-known” publicist within the music industry.
During the course of the recollection, she detailed the troubling encounter with “her ass being rubbed” and her hair being bit by the man she later outed as Heathcliff Berru, founder of Life or Death PR. The firm boasted a roster of several high-profile artists including top-tier Hip Hop acts such as Tyler, The Creator, Killer Mike, D’Angelo, GZA. Following Coffman’s testimony, several hundreds retweeted her words in support and a handful of other women stepped up with similar run-ins with Berru.
The following day, Berru was visibly ousted from his position as CEO and released a statement to LA Weekly, which read in part, “I am deeply sorry for those who I have offended by my actions and how I have made certain women feel. If I crossed the line of decency or respectfulness in situations when I was drunk and under the influence, there is no excuse of course…I have been fighting a losing battle against drugs and alcohol for many years and will be checking into a rehabilitation facility in the hope that I can improve my chances of winning that fight,” combined with an assortment of other apologies.
With the Life or Death named tainted but business model still intact, president Nick Dierl relayed to The FADER that he and the remaining staff will be moving on “bears no ties to Heathcliff Berru or the Life or Death name.”
Killer Mike also chimed in, applauding Coffman for her bravery and revealed that he will continue to do business with his direct publicist, Duncan Will.
RAINN, The nation’s largest anti-sexual assault organization, employs a 24-hour hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or anyone you know has befallen victim to any sort of sexual misconduct, do not hesitate to allow your voice to be heard.