Phoebe Bridgers has lost an important person in her life: On Instagram last night (January 3), Bridgers confirmed the death of her father.
Bridgers wrote on Instagram, “rest in peace dad.” No information about her father’s death has been revealed and his name does not appear to be publicly known. In the photo from the post, a younger Bridgers and her father each have an earbud in as they smile and listen to something together. The photo appears to be from around 2011, since Bridgers’ pink/red hair in it is similar to a 2011 photo Bridgers’ mother previously shared.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm-Tq74v3hG/
Bridgers’ post got supportive comments from people like Boygenius bandmate Lucy Dacus, Clairo, Jason Isbell, Sleater-Kinney, Wayne Coyne, Violet Grohl, Cat Power, Bartees Strange, Benee, Gracie Abrams, Muna, Samia, Andy Richter, and others.
Bridgers has addressed her complicated relationship with her father on multiple occasions. In a 2020 interview with The New Yorker, she said of their relationship, “I feel so much f*cking empathy and so much f*cking anger toward him. […] It’ll always be day to day: Are we talking, are we not talking? What’s the vibe?”
She also sings about him in “Kyoto”: “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 / I’m gonna kill you / If you don’t beat me to it.” In a recent Chicken Shop Date interview, Bridgers said she no longer wants to kill him.
In a 2020 interview with NPR, she also said of “Kyoto” and her relationship with her dad, “It’s a very weird combination of, like, emotionally unavailable, but very present in a weird way. And I think, as an adult, I’m just kind of, like, looking back with more sympathy for my parents, which feels great.”
