After Life Or Death PR founder and CEO Heathcliff Berru was accused of sexual misconduct by a number of women in the music industry, he resigned from his position and issued a statement that said he would be heading to rehab to treat drug and alcohol addiction. In the hours after the news emerged on Twitter late Monday night, at least nine of the 77 clients that were once listed on their website had cut ties with the agency.
In a statement issued to The FADER on Wedesday afternoon, Life Or Death president Nick Dierl says that he and the rest of the staff will be leaving the company as well. His statement in full reads:
"In light of recent events, the remainder of the Life or Death staff is leaving the company today.
We are saddened by the circumstances under which we are departing but are grateful for the opportunity we had together.
There will be a new venture imminently that bears no ties to Heathcliff Berru or the Life or Death name.
More soon from Bradley, Linda, Duncan, Emily and Nick."
On Wednesday morning, Killer Mike hinted at the news, writing on Twitter that "Life or death is no more" and that he was glad "[t]he employees (former) of life or death had a plan ready for clients." Mike said that he would be staying with his publicist Duncan Will. So far, he is the only artist on their roster to publicly stand by the company. A rep for the band Wet echoed a similar sentiment, writing in a email to The FADER that the band would be not be working with Life Or Death any more but "hope to find a way to continue working with our current publicist, Duncan." The FADER has approached more of Life Or Death's clients for comment and will update this post with any further comments.
In addition to The Dirty Projectors' Amber Coffman, who first tweeted about Berru's behavior on Monday night, at least ten women have since come forward publicly to say that Berru acted inappropriately towards them. These women include publicists like Beth Martinez of Danger Village, and musicians like Tearist's Yasmine Kittles. An anonymous Tumblr has also been set up for people to share their stories.
(Thumbnail image via Instagram)