Music mogul Scooter Braun posted some scathing comments about Taylor Swift on Instagram late Tuesday.
Braun posted that she “finally” watched Max’s documentary, “Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood,” which details the long-running feud between Swift and Scooter Braun and questions whether Swift is “bravely standing up for artistry” or whether Braun has been “unfairly framed” in their altercation. Braun also responded to news articles that Swift hosted a group of celebrity friends, including Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, at her Rhode Island home last weekend, posting, “Why wasn’t I invited to this?!” with the hashtag “#laughalittle.”
The dispute between Braun and Swift dates back to 2019, when Braun’s Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Records and gave Braun the rights to Swift’s first six studio records.
Swift wrote on Tumblr at the time that she “begged” for the opportunity to own her music but was ultimately unable to do so, and said she found out about Braun’s purchase at the same time as the rest of the public.
“All I could think about was the relentless, manipulative bullying I endured from him for years,” Swift said of Braun, alleging that he pressured his clients to hate her online.
“Scooter has denied me the opportunity to purchase the work I’ve spent my life creating,” she says, “which means my musical legacy is now in the hands of someone who wants to destroy it.”
Braun’s then-wife refuted Swift’s claims, saying Braun was “never a bully” and that Swift “gave up” the opportunity to own the masters of her albums.
Since then, Swift has continued to slam Braun in her public statements and has appeared to do so in her music as well.
News broke in November 2020 that Braun had sold Swift’s masters to a private equity firm called Shamrock. Swift posted on social media at the time that she had tried to negotiate to buy her music from Braun, but Braun’s team asked her to sign a “strict” non-disclosure agreement not to make any negative statements about him in the future.
“He never even gave my team a price,” she wrote. “These master recordings were not for sale to me.”
Swift also said that Shamrock had contacted her, which let her know that Braun would continue to profit from her music after the acquisition. Swift added that while she was “hopeful” about working with Shamrock, Braun’s involvement was “a no-go” and that not working with Shamrock was a “sacrifice” she had to make to keep Braun out of her life.
In response, Shamrock said, “We fully respect and support her decision. While we would have preferred a formal partnership, we recognized this was a possible outcome we considered.”
In 2021, Braun spoke to Variety about his feud with Swift and recalled previously obtaining her masters.
“It is unfortunate and sad that Taylor had such a reaction to this deal. … Everything that has happened is very confusing and not based in fact,” he said, adding, “I am firmly against anyone being bullied.”