Phoebe Bridgers Calls Out 'Dehumanizing Abuse' from Fans Who 'Bullied' Her En Route to Dad's Wake

The boygenius singer said she was bullied by toxic fans at the airport, where she was photographed with comedian Bo Burnham shortly after calling it quits with boyfriend Paul Mescal

2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards - Winners Walk
Phoebe Bridgers. Photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty

Phoebe Bridgers is speaking out against the toxicity of stan culture.

The "Kyoto" singer, 28, opened up in a new interview about the ways in which she's been "f---ing bullied" by people claiming to be her fans, most recently during a difficult period in her life.

"I'm coming from a place of literally — I'm feeling it in my body as I'm saying, 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 told Them in an interview with boygenius bandmates Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker.

Bridgers' father Tony, a longtime Hollywood set builder, died on Dec. 30. She announced his death on Instagram in early January, and just over a week later, she was spotted walking through LAX with comedian Bo Burnham, 32.

Though Bridgers did not reveal the reasons for her fans' intense bullying, the outing came amid rumors that she and boyfriend Paul Mescal, 27, had recently called it quits.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - AUGUST 20: Phoebe Bridgers performs on stage at Orpheum Theatre on August 20, 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Andrew Chin/Getty Images)
Phoebe Bridgers. Andrew Chin/Getty

"If you're a kid and the internet somehow taught you that that's an OK thing to do, then of course I hate capitalism and everything that led you to believe that it's OK to do that," she said. "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."

She continued: "It's not like they didn't know my dad just died. A lot of the top comments [were] like, 'Hey, her dad just died, what are you guys doing?'"

The four-time Grammy nominee said she "f---ing hates" anyone who would harass her while having her own face as their social media profile picture, and hopes they "grow the f---" up.

She also praised Dacus and Baker for being pillars of support amid the difficult drawbacks of fame.

"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 fucking grateful that that happened' and that that's a part of my job," she said. "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---."

Boygenius is set to release its debut album The Record on Friday.

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