Sargent Home Label Founder Steps Down After Accusations Floor

Sargent Home founder Cathy Pellow has stepped down from her place on the label after allegations towards her have surfaced on-line. Henry Kohen of the band Mylets posted a prolonged assertion detailing his time dwelling in a residence shared by Sargent Home staff. Kohen mentioned he was molested by affiliate of the label Graeme Flegenheimer, and was ignored and ultimately made enjoyable of by Pellow after reporting the incident to her.

“First I might prefer to say thanks to the chums, former/present SH artists and staff, and followers who’ve reached out to indicate assist and share their very own experiences,” wrote Kohen. “I wish to be clear right here and acknowledge that Cathy has reached out to me privately, expressing curiosity round my earlier video.

“It is very important me that there’s an understanding that this situation transcends any of my very own private experiences and that, even within the occasion that any of the next could also be misplaced reminiscences for Cathy, there may be an plain tradition and sample of conduct that’s ingrained within the basis of Sargent Home that must be addressed. I wish to discuss two occurrences that I personally went by after which contact on the larger image.

“In September 2015 once I was 19 and nonetheless dwelling in Sargent Home I used to be molested by venue proprietor and Sargent Home-regular Graeme Flegenheimer whereas making an attempt to kick him out of the home. I advised Cathy about this, about how he had lingered round after a celebration till everybody left and started asking me extraordinarily inappropriate questions, how he groped me and made passes at me after I refused to get right into a mattress with him, how he had climbed the entrance wall of the home to get again inside and looked for me after I locked him out, how he had then proceeded to ship me insulting and express textual content messages all through that evening.

“I used to be not taken critically, met with primarily a shrug and an ungainly chortle, and some nights later I arrived to the home to seek out him again over as a dinner visitor. Their skilled and private relationship remained intact for lengthy after I had advised Cathy.

“This was the impetus for me deciding to maneuver out of Sargent Home, a transfer that might additionally lead away from my aspirations of getting a life centered round music. I had heard Cathy strongly and publicly condemn perpetrators and advocate for victims utilizing the Sargent Home platform and the dearth of acknowledgement or motion totally contributed to my suppression and denial of what had occurred to me.

“In October 2013, once I was simply 17, at a present in Chicago on my very first North American tour, Cathy took me apart and advised me with the utmost gravity to by no means ever neglect that the one motive anybody would ever listen or worth my music was due to her.

“I really have by no means forgotten this! Later this similar evening, she would stroll throughout and harm my information and shirts with muddy footwear and ultimately go on to name my Mother a cunt in entrance of your complete tour line-up, my mother and father, and followers who had caught round.

“I’m embarrassed to speak about both of those occasions and so they definitely should not the extent of my experiences, however I need to exorcise them from my head and they’re additionally vital in understanding the tradition surrounding Sargent Home.

“I witnessed routine excessive degradation and verbal abuse of staff and artists, intentional belittling and manipulation resulting in rivalries and insecurities inside the artist-base, blatant and even proudly misogynistic language surrounding the ‘acquisition’ of emotionally-vulnerable feminine artists, purposeful withholding of economic data besides when making obscure allusions to how indebted the artists had been to her, open disdain for the fan bases of bands, forceful and focused breaking of artists and worker’s private boundaries, and an all-encompassing technique of ‘othering’ that instilled a relentless feeling of paranoia.

“I’ve no ambitions to ‘cancel’ Cathy, to close down Sargent Home, no emotions of vindictiveness. What I’m asking for is for there to be an acknowledgement of previous behaviors to be able to guarantee any artists, staff, or followers that any such systematic remedy is not tolerable and that those that have been damage can get accountability with out the worry of getting to place themselves on the road legally or financially and with out having to revisit existentially embarrassing or hurtful instances of their lives.

“Via the label’s constructed outward messaging and aesthetic, many individuals are drawn to affix Sargent Home whether or not as artists, staff, or devoted followers and I imagine these individuals all deserve an impression constructed on good religion when contemplating pouring themselves right into a model.

“To these of you who might communicate alongside me right here, I ask that you simply please please do (offering you’re presently legally capable of). Although I can not communicate for you, I promise I bear in mind your struggles and ache as properly and I do know that you simply carry your experiences in the identical manner I do.

“I’ve nothing to advertise or achieve by this and I’m not sad with the present state of my life, I’m not a disgruntled ex-musician or in search of consideration by my grief. I wish to particularly thank these few grownup musicians and staff who took the time to earnestly examine in on me as an individual once I was nonetheless an adolescent; seeing previous cliques or business careers and simply recognizing a naive younger man who most likely did not perceive what he was in the course of.

“On the time I detested your efforts and I understood you to be bitter ex-devotees who had merely failed to stick to the steering and genius of Cathy‘s management.

“Thanks all for taking the time to learn or hearken to this, I really feel disgrace, embarrassment, and loneliness as I end writing right here. It’s no accident that I really feel these emotions now in the identical manner that it’s no accident that it has taken me near a decade to talk up about one thing that follows me every single day. It feels treasonous.

“Cathy,

“Your final textual content to me was despatched after I got here out publicly as queer. You mentioned: ‘Sending like to you Henry. I am so pleased you had been capable of share your reality at this time.’

“I don’t anticipate this to be a straightforward course of for you, I hope you will notice worth mirrored in my reality and that others will present their truths as properly.

“I imagine that Sargent Home actually deserves this, to not be torn down, however to be held to the usual it purports to.”

Pellow has since responded to the allegations, apologizing and saying she’s closed the administration facet of the label and “can be stepping away from Sargent Home.” Pellow‘s assertion was posed to the Sargent Home Instagram and reads as follows.

“I’ve been making an attempt to collect the fitting phrases to say in mild of a current video uploaded to social media by an artist I managed named Henry Kohen by which he shared some experiences throughout his time dwelling at my workplace / residence,” wrote Pellow.

“To Henry, I sincerely apologize and had no thought how a lot my phrases and actions damage you. I’ve despatched you a non-public message that additional expresses my remorse concerning the occasions that impacted you. Should you select to share that message publicly, that’s after all your choice to make.

“I additionally wish to apologize to any previous staff or artists who’ve been negatively impacted by my actions. I have been too oblivious and unaware of the hurt that my unhealthy conduct had precipitated, I do know that does not excuse the information and I take duty for any ache I dropped at these round me. I really feel ashamed and am actually remorseful.

“I wish to do proper by these I’ve let down and I’m open and welcoming to anybody who can be keen to have a dialog with me. I see now how offensive I used to be to lots of people, however I’m human and hopefully deserving of an opportunity to make amends.

“Sobriety has been actually vital to me in recent times, particularly throughout and after the pandemic. I don’t anticipate to achieve any sympathy from anybody, however I’m not the particular person I was, and I’m striving to develop into a greater particular person and proper my previous errors. With that in thoughts, I’ve closed the administration facet and can be stepping away from Sargent Home to concentrate on the issues I can do to repair these points and care for my very own psychological well being.

“I’m the one one that may account for my actions, so I ask that folks direct their anger or disappointment in direction of me and never towards any of the artists related previous or current. I hope followers of the music launched by Sargent Home can separate my shortcomings from the work finished for and by the artists that all of us love and cherish, they need to not take any blame for this.

“There’s loads of work forward and I’m solely starting this course of. I’ve created a private Instagram account @cathyp_1956 in order that I can proceed the conversations with out being a distraction to the artists and folks that proceed to do wonderful work at Sargent Home.”

Artist statements concerning the abuse have additionally begun to floor. Chelsea Wolfe revealed in an Instagram story that she dropped off the label final summer time for her psychological well being, whereas Lingua Ignota has issued the next assertion additionally as an Instagram story.

“I’ve been working very exhausting to make my life as wholesome and pleased as attainable. An enormous a part of that equation meant ending my relationship with Cathy Pellow, which I did final yr. I’m specializing in my future and can be going into element about my expertise however I stand in unequivocal assist of the artists and staff talking out. I’m grateful to be free and therapeutic.”

King Lady additionally shared Wolfe‘s assertion, including “I second this. I additionally left a couple of years in the past.”