Taylor Swift backed by Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in her fight against Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun
Democratic presidential frontrunner Elizabeth Warren and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have chosen to pick up an issue which is not political per se but given the highly charged pre-election season, gives the politicians ample scope for good PR.
Warren, a senator from Massachusetts, and AOC have spoken out in favor of singer Taylor Swift who is in the middle of a very public tiff with music executives Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun.
Warren and AOC plunged into the scene after Swift accused Borchetta, founder of Big Machine Label Group, and his partner Braun, who bought recordings from her first six studio albums in July for $300 million, of stopping her from performing her own music.
Last Thursday, November 14, Swift alleged the two men did not permit her to perform a planned medley of her greatest hits at the American Music Awards scheduled November 24.
Swift, who will turn 30 next month, is also due to be honored as the artist of the decade at the event. She has also been denied approval to use her old songs on a Netflix documentary that is being made for two years now.
Taylor also slammed Carlyle Group, a private equity firm, that reportedly invested in Braun’s firm Ithaca Holdings who she accused of putting up money for the sale of her music to Borchetta and Braun.
AOC and Warren joined the debate on Swift’s side and lashed out at the private equity firm.
In a tweet posted Friday, November 15, AOC said “private equity groups’ predatory practices” hurt millions of Americans while “leveraged buyouts” have destroyed the lives of retail workers across the US, resulting in loss of millions of jobs.
Warren links issue with her presidential campaign, says she has a plan
Warren joined a day later sympathizing with Swift saying she is among the many whose work has been threatened by a private equity firm. She even linked the issue with her own presidential campaign, saying she has got a plan on how to rein in such firms.
The Taylor issue has already become a headline-grabbing one with a number of celebrities like Gigi Hadid, Camila Cabello, Lily Allen having thrown their weights behind the singer. The entries of two politicians could now see the issue getting further politicized.
In the past, Warren and AOC have sent letters to private equity companies having prison ties asking them to release information about their stakes in correctional services, their revenue and whether they paid fees for violating federal or state laws.
They had even teamed up for the cause of environmental clean-up although AOC ended up endorsing Warren's rival Bernie Sanders for president.