This Writer Exposing #MeToo in the Music Industry Isn't Your Hero
EntertainmentBob Lefsetz, a former entertainment lawyer, has been writing the Lefsetz Letter for over a decade now. Typically a pretty inside-baseball view of the music industry with analysis, reviews, and awards show chatter, the Lefsetz Letter has gotten considerably more exposure in recent months because of how many women and men are submitting anonymous allegations of harassment to it.
In January, Lefsetz circulated a link to an open letter directed at Republic Records executive Charlie Walk written by Tristan Coopersmith, a former coworker who alleged sexual misconduct. Walk was placed on leave by Republic and Lefsetz is now facing legal threats for passing along the link to his readers. Readers continued to send Lefsetz emails alleging other misconduct from Walk as well as other anecdotes, anonymous or not, of sexual harassment in the industry, which Lefsetz then circulated through the newsletter.
In response, The Daily Beast published a glowing piece on Lefsetz’s work exposing sexual misconduct in the industry. It frames Lefsetz’s letter as the “first place” for women in the music industry to share their stories (despite the fact that several other outlets have also been covering the topic). “Bob is like an accidental hero,” guitarist Paula Franceschi tells the outlet. “He’s the kind of example we need out there, men stepping up for women.” But there’s no mention in the piece of the fact that, for years, Lefsetz has frequently written sexist statements about women’s bodies in ways that certainly contradict the depiction of him as “an accidental hero.”
He dedicated an entire letter to Emily Ratajkowski’s cameo in the “Blurred Lines” video because “it was the only thing that had me watching, who was the girl with the perfect breasts?”
Lefsetz is the same writer who saw Beyoncé perform at the 2013 Super Bowl and remarked that he wasn’t sure what to do afterwards, “join a gym or masturbate.” He’s the same critic who assured readers that if they wanted to “get laid” they should go to a One Direction show. “An endless sea of barely pubescent girls, screaming their heads off,” he wrote. He dedicated an entire letter to Emily Ratajkowski’s cameo in the “Blurred Lines” video because “it was the only thing that had me watching, who was the girl with the perfect breasts?”