British indie rock/pop artist Bishop Briggs (born Sarah Grace McLaughlin) recently shared an Instagram post that highlighted, in her own words, verbal abuse she allegedly received from her former producers. Briggs released her sophomore full length studio album, Champion, last November via Island Records.
Briggs came to prominence with her smash breakout 2018 debut album, Church of Scars, which included Billboard charting single “River.” In a revealing Instagram post, Briggs alleged she endured behavior from the aforementioned producers in question, Mark Jackson and Ian Brendon Scott, that was “dismissive, controlling and belittling.” This is furthered detailed, according to iHeart Radio, by Briggs when she posted, “I ended my production deal with Mark Jackson and Ian Brendon Scott two years ago,” she wrote. “I was promptly sued by them and I made the decision to countersue as my reason for leaving was due to the consistent verbal abuse I received on a daily basis while recording. I feel grateful that the songs that have garnered the most success from Church of Scars are the ones that were written during healthier times in the studio.”
“The dismissive, controlling and belittling behavior from them began once labels and publishers started expressing interest in working with me,” she continued. “I felt so proud of the music we were creating that I told myself to keep my head down and to suppress many painful emotions.”
Briggs wrote that the guidance and emotional support from songwriting confidant, Justin Tranter, was a safe haven from the alleged verbal abuse. Tranter, frequent songwriting partner with Julia Michaels, has written for a slew of talent from the likes of Selena Gomez, Fall Out Boy, Justin Bieber and was heavily involved in the writing process behind Gwen Stefani’s third full length studio album, 2016’s This Is What the Truth Feels Like. Briggs’ Instagram post concludes further, what Tranter witnessed during the alleged verbal abuse by producers, Jackson and Scott.
“The turning point in my journey was when Justin Tranter came in to write with us,” she said. “He was visibly upset with how they were talking to me and said at that point I was completely used to their behavior that I did anything they said. Justin was my guardian angel. He voiced that I didn’t have to work in conditions like that and that was not normal. I was so used to defending and protecting them, but instead I sat and cried. Someone was seeing me and my pain for the first time and I didn’t know how to erase what he witnessed.”
Photo Credit: Boston Lynn Schulz
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