Phoebe Bridgers announces death of her father: "rest in peace dad"

Phoebe Bridgers has announced the passing of her father in an Instagram post yesterday (January 3).

The California singer-songwriter posted a photo of the pair sharing a pair of earphones, Bridgers sporting pink hair, beside the simple caption “rest in peace dad.”

Details regarding the cause of death have not been shared, but Bridgers was known to have a complex relationship with her father. He had previously worked as a carpenter on film and television sets in Los Angeles. Her hit single ‘Kyoto’, from 2020’s Punisher, referenced their estrangement.

“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 on the track. “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.”

Bridgers has detailed her complicated relationship with her dad over the years through both interviews and her self-penned music. In a 2019 interview with GQ, the 28-year-old shared that her dad was a scenic carpenter who had a “drug thing.”

In an interview with NPR 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.

She had told The Line of Best Fit in December 2020 that she began talking to her father again during the COVID-19 lockdowns of that year, saying, “it’s strange, but it’s been really nice.” She added that whilst she hadn’t discussed the sentiments expressed on ‘Kyoto’ with him, he had said that he’d “like to take some responsibility” after the track scored her two Grammy nominations in 2021, for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance.