5 Signs Taylor Swift And Scooter Braun's Feud Might Not Be Over Yet
Swifties know that Taylor Swift has no qualms about throwing shade at those she's got "Bad Blood" with — and celebrity manager Scooter Braun was (and maybe still is?) on her hit list. We first realized things were spiraling circa 2019 when Braun's media company, Ithaca Holdings, acquired Swift's old label, Big Machine Records. Because of the deal, Braun gained control of the master recordings of the music Swift had put out with Big Machine Records, essentially everything she wrote between 2006 and 2017's "Reputation." This prompted the singer to re-record her albums because, as Swift explained during an appearance on "GMA," she thinks "artists deserve to own their work," and she feels "very passionately about that."
In short, Swift's determination to own the creative rights to her own music has been at the heart of a years-long feud between herself and Braun/Big Machine Records that seems to still be ongoing. From Swift's accusatory Tumblr posts to the hefty payout that Braun made from selling the rights to Swift's masters, there's been no shortage of twists to this narrative.
However, since the Grammy winner first announced she would be re-recording her music, she has made good on her promise, dropping three re-recordings so far, with "1989 (Taylor's Version)" due out in October. It Looks like Swift has had the last laugh, and her beef with Braun is water under the bridge at this point, right? Not quite. We're piecing together all the Easter eggs that tell us Swift isn't "Shake[ing] It Off" anytime soon.
Scooter Braun's artists cut ties with SB Projects
The summer of 2023 saw a mass exodus of artists from SB Projects. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Idina Menzel, Demi Lovato, J Balvin, and Ariana Grande have all allegedly cut ties with Scooter Braun — and there were even rumors that Justin Bieber was seeking new management, too. (Update: he's staying put for now.) As for the reasoning behind Braun-gate, we suspect it had something to do with Braun and Swift's feud.
In August, longtime Swiftie and music producer Jack Antonoff threw major shade at Braun by posting the meme of the Sims baby on fire to his IG Stories, writing, "Not now, sweeties, mommy is trying to figure out why Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and Idina Menzel just fired Scooter Braun as their manager." We'll just leave that here for you to look at.
Taylor Swift continues to troll Scooter Braun
In 2020, Ryan Reynolds dropped his ad for Match.com, which featured the devil falling in love with a personified 2020, set to the soundtrack of Taylor Swift's re-recorded "Love Story." At one point in the ad, eagle-eyed fans noticed that while Satan and his love were taking selfies in front of a literal dumpster fire, there was a fallen-down scooter in the background. Do we think that the sad scooter was a coincidence? Probably not.
Fans didn't either and wasted no time in flocking to what was formerly Twitter, now X, with praise for Ms. Swift. "NOT THE FALLEN SCOOTER THIS IS WHY I LOVE TAYLOR SWIFT," one person wrote. "Taylor Swift really put a fallen scooter and the number 6 next to the trash can. I love her so much," someone else added.
Taylor Swift put Scooter Braun on blast (lyrically speaking)
By now, it's a well-documented fact that if you cross Taylor Swift, you'll end up immortalized in song (and not in a good way). In another sign that Swift still isn't over her feud with Scooter Braun, she made several oblique references to him in her 2022 studio album "Midnights" — more specifically, the track "Vigilante S**t." The song features lyrics like, "While he was doin' lines and crossin' all of mine, someone told his white-collar crimes to the FBI," which fans theorize could be a nod to a 2021 lawsuit that Braun's former business partner, Peter Comisar, brought against him, according to Bustle.
People also think that "Karma" is about Braun, given that in it, Swift sings, "Spider Boy / king of thieves." Spider Boy and Scooter Braun both have the same initials, for what it's worth.
Taylor Swift brought the drama to her 'Eras' tour
Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour has been her most ambitious yet, spanning 146 days and five continents. While in Mexico City in August 2023, Swift opened her concert by making her own statement about the ongoing Scooter Braun drama. Hello! reported that she first welcomed the crowd with a hit off her 2019 album "Lover" called "I Forgot That You Existed." Not only is the track from a time in which Swift was in charge of her own music, but it appears to acknowledge the controversy around Braun — namely, that his A-list artists were leaving his label.
"I Forgot You Existed" is also widely speculated to reference Braun, as well as others who have "wronged" the singer, like Kanye "Ye" West and Calvin Harris, per Complex.
Swifties continue to talk about the feud
If Taylor Swift and Scooter Braun's feud is old news, then why do people continue to talk about it? In the wake of Braun's clients leaving his label, Swifties took to the Internet to speculate about "Karma" and "tayvoodoo." "[The Scooter Braun controversy] is unfolding impressively fast no wonder karlie went to the eras tour she was giving an offering to clean her soul and avoid tayvoodoo," someone wrote on Twitter. Here, they reference Swift's former BFF-turned-frenemy Karlie Kloss, who supposedly needed to make peace with Swift in order to avoid getting hit with bad juju. Someone else posted, "Alexa, play karma by Taylor Swift," alongside screenshots of headlines about Braun's clients seeking new management.
In February 2023, Braun himself nodded to his beef with Swift on Bloomberg's "Idea Generation" show. By continuing to talk about it, these people are just keeping the feud alive.