Taylor Swift Calls Out Scooter Braun For “Bullying” After He Acquires Her Masters; Justin Bieber Fires Back: “What Were You Trying To Accomplish?”

Taylor Swift posted an open letter on her Tumblr page expressing her dismay that manager Scooter Braun had purchased her masters. 

Swift reposted a (since deleted) Instagram post from Justin Bieber, which featured a smiling Kanye West and his former manager Scooter Braun with the caption “Taylor Swift what up.”

In her caption, Swift slammed former Big Machine label boss, Scott Brochetta, for selling the label, including the masters for her first six albums, to Braun. 

Swift’s song catalog was part of her deal with Big Machine Records, a deal that offered her an opportunity to ‘earn’ one album back at a time, one for every new one she turned in. However, Taylor shared, in her detailed Tumblr post, that she walked away from the deal because she knew once she signed that contract, Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling her and her entire body of work. 

“I had to make the excruciating choice to leave behind my past. Music I wrote on my bedroom floor and videos I dreamed up and paid for from the money I earned playing in bars, then clubs, then arenas, then stadiums,” she wrote. 

Taylor also said that she was “Sad and Grossed Out” to learn that Braun had purchased her entire music catalog, calling it her “worst case scenario.” 

“This is my worst case scenario. This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term ‘loyalty’ is clearly just a contractual concept. And when that man says ‘Music has value,’ he means its value is beholden to men who had no part in creating it.”

Elsewhere, she described the great lengths Braun and his clients have gone to bully her. 

“Like when Kim Kardashian orchestrated an illegally recorded snippet of a phone call to be leaked, and then Scooter got his two clients together to bully me online about it. (See photo) Or when his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked. Now Scooter has stripped me of my life’s work, that I wasn’t given an opportunity to buy. Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it,” Swift wrote. 

In response, Bieber has since posted an apology saying: “Hey Taylor, First of all, I would like to apologize for posting that hurtful Instagram post, at the time I thought it was funny but looking back it was distasteful and insensitive.” 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Hey Taylor. First of all i would like to apologize for posting that hurtful instagram post, at the time i thought it was funny but looking back it was distasteful and insensitive.. I have to be honest though it was my caption and post that I screenshoted of scooter and Kanye that said “taylor swift what up” he didnt have anything to do with it and it wasnt even a part of the conversation in all actuality he was the person who told me not to joke like that.. Scooter has had your back since the days you graciously let me open up for you.! As the years have passed we haven’t crossed paths and gotten to communicate our differences, hurts or frustrations. So for you to take it to social media and get people to hate on scooter isn’t fair. What were you trying to accomplish by posting that blog? seems to me like it was to get sympathy u also knew that in posting that your fans would go and bully scooter. Anyway, One thing i know is both scooter and i love you. I feel like the only way to resolve conflict is through communication. So banter back and fourth online i dont believe solves anything. I’m sure Scooter and i would love to talk to you and resolve any conflict, pain or or any feelings that need to be addressed. Neither scooter or i have anything negative to say about you we truly want the best for you. I usually don’t rebuttal things like this but when you try and deface someone i loves character thats crossing a line..

A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on Jun 30, 2019 at 2:54pm PDT

However, Justin also went on to defend Braun claiming that “Scooter has had your back since the days you graciously let me open up for you..!”  

Bieber wanted to make it clear that his post was not intended to take any jabs at Taylor and he wasn’t put up to hit by Braun. However, he did feel Swift’s post on social media was unfair and crossed a line. 

“For you to take it to social media and get people to hate on scooter isn’t fair. What were you trying to accomplish by posting that blog?” Bieber wrote. “seems to me like it was to get sympathy u also knew that in posting that your fans would go and bully scooter.” 

As the singer continued, he offered a solution. “I feel like the only way to resolve conflict is through communication. So banter back and forth online I don’t believe solves anything,” he said. “I’m sure Scooter and I would love to talk to you and resolve any conflict, pain, or-or any feelings that need to be addressed. Neither scooter or I have anything negative to say about you we truly want the best for you. I usually don’t rebuttal things like this, but when you try and deface someone I loves character that’s crossing a line..”

Swift hadn’t responded to Bieber since her original post, but it definitely seems like there is more bad blood brewing.