Phoebe Bridgers
Phoebe Bridgers opened up about some of the more difficult parts of fame in a wide-ranging Them interview with her Boygenius bandmates Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker.
“I’m coming from a place of literally — I’m feeling it in my body as I’m saying it, but — people with my picture as their Twitter picture, who claim to like my music, f—ing bullied me at the airport on the way to my father’s funeral this year,” she revealed at one point. While she didn’t note what exact situation prompted the negative attention, Bridgers made headlines in January when she was photographed at the airport with comedian Bo Burnham amid rumors that she split from actor Paul Mescal. The “I Know the End” singer announced the death of her father just days before the photos made their rounds online.
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“If you’re a kid and the internet somehow taught you that that’s an okay thing to do, then of course I hate capitalism and everything that led you to believe that it’s okay to do that,” Bridgers continued. “I, at one of the lowest points of my life, saw people who claim to love me f—ing dehumanize me and shame me and f—ing bully me on the way to my dad’s wake.”
And yes, these alleged “fans” did know that her father recently passed away. “A lot of the top comments [were] like, ‘Hey, her dad just died, what are you guys doing?’”
As a message to those who harass others online, Bridgers said, “I f—ing hate you, and I hope you grow the fuck up.”
She concluded, “I have to say, most of the people I talk to light up my life and remind me what I love about my job, but my two best friends are helping me with the boundary of I don’t have to sit here and be f—ing grateful that that happened and that that’s a part of my job. It doesn’t have to be, and it wasn’t five years ago, so I appreciate being able to look at two other people and be like, this is dehumanizing abuse, horrible s—.”
Earlier this week, Boygenius announced their upcoming headlining tour of North America in support of the band’s long-awaited debut album The Record.
Phoebe Bridgers‘ father has died, according to a post shared on Tuesday (Jan. 3) by the “I Know the End” singer.
“rest in peace dad,” she captioned a throwback photo of herself with pink hair, smiling alongside her late father. She did not share any additional info regarding the cause of his death.
Bridgers has detailed her complicated relationship with her father over the years through interviews and music. In a 2019 interview with GQ, the 28-year-old shared that her dad was a scenic carpenter who had a “drug thing.”
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The fan-favorite track, “Kyoto,” off her sophomore album Punisher, also touches on her paternal relationship. “You called me from a payphone / They still got payphones / It cost a dollar a minute / To tell me you’re getting sober / And you wrote me a letter / But I don’t have to read it,” she sings in the opening verse, later crooning, “I don’t forgive you / But please don’t hold me to it / Born under Scorpio skies / I wanted to see the world / Through your eyes until it happened.”
In an interview with NPR’s Sam Sanders for It’s Been A Minute in December 2020, she described their relationship as “a very weird combination of emotionally unavailable, but very present in a weird way.” However, she added that as she has grown into adulthood, she has developed more sympathy for each of her parents.
Phoebe Bridgers joined Danny Elfman for a live-to-film performance of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas on December 9 and 10 at London’s OVO Arena Wembley, and the duo sat down with NME to discuss their creepy collaboration.
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The “I Know the End” singer revealed that she had “such a crush on Sally” growing up and the film “informed stylistically a lot of me gravitating towards goth stuff as a kid.” Thus, she was the perfect fit to take on the singing role of the rebellious ragdoll, alongside Elfman, who reprised his role as the pumpkin king Jack Skellington for the shows.
Later on in the interview, Bridgers talked about the process making her SZA collaboration, “Ghost in the Machine,” off the latter’s freshly released album, S.O.S. “That record is insane,” Bridgers noted.
“She just hit me up. She just sent me a DM, and then it all happened so fast,” the 28-year-old recalled of how the collaboration came together. “I wasn’t really used to that in that pop world, because vinyl isn’t so much of a consideration until way later. It’s just like, ‘Do you want to be on this record? OK, it’s out next week.’ It was so recent, which I really like. I like that turnaround time. Personally, I sit on stuff for so long and it takes me years to make albums. I like seeing someone else’s world from that angle.”
Of SZA, Bridgers gushed, “She’s definitely my favorite rapper. She’s so, so effective and cool and a great hang.”
Watch the full interview below.
You may know Phoebe Bridgers for tracks like “Kyoto,” “Moon Song” and “Motion Sickness” or her best new artist Grammy nomination, but the 28-year-old indie-pop darling is much more than a musician. Bridgers has been using her platform to speak out against injustices, and she’s staying vocal as Teen Vogue‘s October cover star.
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Bridgers chatted with Teen Vogue news & politics editor Lexi Mcmenamin on a variety of topics, including abortion rights and LGBTQ+ visibility in rock and pop.
Phoebe Bridgers is Teen Vogue’s October cover star.
Chloe Horseman/Teen Vogue
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and with the rise of female and genderqueer artists in rock such as Mitski and Pom Pom Squad, Bridgers said it’s sad that the community has been forced to identify with white boys for decades.
“I think it shows you how desperate we’ve all been for any f—ing representation,” Bridgers told Teen Vogue. “I also think at the heart of it, it’s just wanting to be understood.”
Phoebe Bridgers is Teen Vogue’s October cover star.
Chloe Horseman/Teen Vogue
As far as who has access to abortion, Bridgers believes white middle-class and upper-class people are always going to have access to reproductive-health resources, whether it’s flying to another state or family assistance.
“It’s just so much harder for the people that it was already hard for, so I like the organizations that are making life easier for those people,” she said.
Phoebe Bridgers is Teen Vogue’s October cover star.
Chloe Horseman/Teen Vogue
In her interview with Teen Vogue, Bridgers notes that women shouldn’t let anyone freak them out about abortion “because unless you’re doing it in an unsafe way, there are resources for you if you’re trying to get one — and you should f—ing have one for whatever reason,” she continued. “It’s super safe. Shout-out to Planned Parenthood. I was very held during it.”
Bridgers, who has been open about her own abortion story, also discussed the experience with The Guardian ahead of her appearance at Glastonbury in June. The artist said she didn’t give much thought before posting on social media about her experience at Planned Parenthood, adding that her decision to have an abortion was not an emotional one. “I wasn’t f—ing emotional at all,” she told The Guardian. “Hormonally crazy! But I don’t think you should assign ‘it tore me up’ to me. No! I don’t think about it as a baby, of course not.”
Bridgers was inspired to first share her story via social media after Politico leaked the Supreme Court’s draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade. “I had an abortion in October of last year while I was on tour,” Bridgers tweeted. “I went to Planned Parenthood, where they gave me the abortion pill. It was easy. Everyone deserves that kind of access.”
Read the full story on Teen Vogue.
This is halloween, this is halloween, and Phoebe Bridgers is putting her skeletal style to a new use.
The four-time Grammy nominee will be taking on the singing role of ragdoll Sally in a London live-to-film performance of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas alongside Danny Elfman, who will be reprising his role as the pumpkin king Jack Skellington. Ken Page will also return to sing as Oogie Boogie, which he also played in the beloved 1993 film.
The concerts will take place on December 9 and 10 at London’s OVO Arena Wembley. John Mauceri will conduct the BBC Concert Orchestra for the event, and will be joined by Greg Proops, Randy Crenshaw, Fletcher Sheridan and violinist Sandy Cameron. Last year, Elfman led a similar event along with Billie Eilish as Sally at LA’s Banc of California Stadium.
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The Nightmare Before Christmas follows the tale of Halloweentown’s Jack Skellington, who becomes tired of the annual routine of frightening people in the “real world” on Halloween. He later stumbles upon Christmastown accidentally and falls in love with the jolly holiday spirit. He then gets the motivation to take Christmas under his own control, and kidnaps Santa Claus in order to take over his role. However, things begin to go awry quickly.
Tickets for the Nightmare Before Christmas event are currently on sale via Ticketmaster.
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