Rolling Stone: Columbus artist voices sexual harassment allegations
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Columbus alt country singer-songwriter Lydia Loveless divulged her sexual harassment allegations against an unofficial affiliate of her record label.
Loveless, who signed with Chicago-based Bloodshot Records when she was 19 and now calls the city home, says she was repeatedly harassed by Mark Panick, the domestic partner of label co-owner Nan Warshaw.
Using Instagram, Loveless alleged that she had endured years of sexual misconduct and “casual predation” from Panick, so much that she enacted a “nobody-backstage-in-Chicago rule, in order to avoid seeing Mark at all.” She eventually banned him from her events altogether.
“In one instance, he approached me at the Bloodshot 20th Anniversary party, and while resting his hand between my buttcheeks, told me he loved my messy hairdo because it reminded him of the way girls’ hair in high school would look after they blew him,” Loveless wrote, as an example of her interactions with Panick.
Loveless’s Instagram post was met with what she called an “overwhelming” amount of support. She signed off by saying she would be taking a leave of absence from social media to “focus on creativity and therapy.”
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In response to Loveless’s accusations, Bloodshot Records’ co-owner/co-founder Rob Miller issued this statement:
“While I disagree with certain characterizations contained in the content of her recent social media posts, the story is essentially, and sadly, true.”
However, since Panick is not an employee of the label or officially affiliated in any capacity, Miller wrote that he is not someone he can fire.
Stereogum reports Miller said Panick is forbidden from contacting Loveless, either in person or online, and that he is permanently banned from any Bloodshot-related events. Miller added that Panick is abiding.
These allegations came two days after the New York Times ran their report on Ryan Adams and his alleged history of sexual misconduct, to which Loveless posted this tweet:
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