Lydia Loveless Accuses Bloodshot Records Owner’s Partner of Sexual Misconduct, Label Head “Steps Away”

Singer-songwriter alleges years of “casual predation” by Mark Panick, the partner of Bloodshot co-owner Nan Warshaw. She says the label “quieted it to protect their brand.”

By Michelle Hyun Kim and Jazz Monroe

February 18, 2019

Singer-songwriter Lydia Loveless has detailed years of alleged sexual harassment by Chicago musician Mark Panick, the domestic partner of Bloodshot Records co-founder Nan Warshaw. In a statement posted on Instagram yesterday (February 17), Loveless describes Panick’s alleged “casual predation,” which she says includes groping, verbal sexual harassment, and Facebook comments “that would elicit texts from friends [saying], ‘Who is this person? Are you OK?’” In response to the allegations, Panick said he “never set out to make anyone uncomfortable” and apologized “if anything I did made anyone feel unsafe and or uncomfortable.”

Loveless, who released five LPs on Bloodshot between 2011 and 2017, says that Panick was present at “all social events” associated with Bloodshot and she saw him as “a face of the label.” She says Panick’s perceived association with the label made her uncomfortable speaking out about the harassment. “I didn’t know who to tell about these behaviors because I felt afraid, as for me, shows are work events and Mark was a part of the label from my eyes—my label,” she writes. (In a statement released overnight, Bloodshot condemns Panick and says he “does not represent us in any way, he is not ‘with’ the label and he does not ‘have our ear.’”)

When Rob Miller, the co-founder and co-owner of Bloodshot, confronted Nan Warshaw about the problem, Warshaw defended Panick, Loveless alleges. In a statement, Warshaw apologizes to Loveless for “any hell or even awkwardness” resulting from her “actions or inactions.” Warshaw adds, “For the moment I’m going to step away from Bloodshot.” A Bloodshot representative told Pitchfork in a statement, “It was the consensus that [Warshaw’s] presence, while she works on her personal life, would be a distraction to the staff and to the artists and all their great work. It would be premature to speculate right now what her involvement will be in the future.”

Loveless says the label eventually offered to ban Panick from Bloodshot events, which she agreed to. “I don’t think Bloodshot has maliciously encouraged this behavior but instead quieted it to protect their brand, and it has indeed been covered up in my eyes, as the behavior only ceased when I was informed they wanted to begin signing more women,” she says.

In a statement, Miller backed up some of the claims, writing, “While I disagree with certain characterizations contained in the content of [Loveless’] recent social media posts, the story is essentially, and sadly, true.” He says he responded proactively to the allegations and that he encouraged Loveless to come forward. “The shame, humiliation and rage I feel over this is, I fully understand, a fraction of what she feels. To know that I did not see her discomfort as it was happening is something I will forever regret.” Read each statement below.

Loveless has fulfilled her contract with Bloodshot and “has been in the process of recording an album and exploring options for the next chapter of her career,” a representative for the label told Pitchfork.