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Who is Scooter Braun? From party planner to 'bullying' Taylor Swift, the story of music's most famous talent manager

Braun, 38, joined the world of hip-hop through Jermaine Dupri’s 'So So Def Records' at the age of 19 and was named Best Talent Manager at the International Music Industry Awards in 2016
UPDATED JAN 19, 2020
Getty Images
Getty Images

Sunday night was big for all Taylor Swift fans.

The news of talent manager Scooter Braun buying her masters and Swift calling him out for bullying had the Swifties up all night. 

The drama saw the entire world scrambling to pick a side with celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato supporting their manager and Cara Delevingne and Todrick Hall making it clear that they have BFF Tay-Tay’s back.

So who is Scooter Braun, and is he really the villain he is being painted out to be?

The talent manager, who represents world-renowned artists such as Carly Rae Jepsen, Hilary Duff, Demi Lovato, and Ariana Grande, is possibly best known for managing Justin Bieber, who he discovered after watching his YouTube videos.

Braun has been a butt of many jokes for possibly being a great influence on the singer during his rebel years.

Considered one of the most influential people in the world by Time in 2013, Braun also co-organized the student-led protests against gun violence, which is considered the largest single-day protest in Washington DC.

Braun, who joined the world of hip-hop through Jermaine Dupri’s 'So So Def Records' at the age of 19, had started off his career as a party planner.

He is now regarded as the 'best talent manager' according to the 3rd annual International Music Industry Awards in 2016.

Swift and other artists who have worked with Braun claim that he is also prone to bullying singers, practicing homophobia, and manipulating people and reducing them to tears.

Some believe that he is a tough, no-nonsense man who refuses to sugarcoat anything for anyone, and Swift is too soft to handle it.

Others believe she is trying to throw an honest man under the bus because it is convenient for her and would make her seem like a victim, yet again.

The truth of the matter is that Braun's Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Label Group from founder Scott Borchetta as part of a $300-million deal, which happened to also get him the masters of all of Swift’s music from 2006 to 2017.

Swift, who claims that she was not given an opportunity to buy them despite requests, said she should have at least learned about the deal before the public.

Big Machine Label Group is presenting a united front, with Jake Basden, senior vice-president, communications, even telling CNN that Scott Swift, the ‘You Need to Calm Down’ singer’s dad, is a shareholder in Big Machine Records and that Basden first alerted all of shareholders of the deal with Ithaca Holdings on June 25.

"Out of courtesy, I personally texted Taylor at 9:06 p.m., June 29, to inform her prior to the story breaking on the morning of June 30 so she could hear it directly from me,” he said. "I truly doubt that she 'woke up to the news when everyone else did."

The statements from Big Machine Records make Swift’s claims seem baseless, possibly indicating that the allegation of Braun's bullying could well be false.

In fact, Bieber has taken responsibility for taunting her during her low moments with a photograph of Braun and Kanye West, claiming that his manager had, in fact, asked him not to do something so juvenile.

Braun, meanwhile, remained mum about the whole feud, which, at the moment, seems one-sided.

His wife Yael Cohen was quick to come to his defense. She wrote on Instagram that, even though she refrains from public airing of laundry, Swift crossed the line by coming after her man.

“Don’t blame [Scooter] because Kim caught you in a lie, it’s embarrassing I know—but adults own up to their mistakes,” she said while addressing Swift’s 'tantrum.' “We learn and grow from them, we don’t divert blame and blur the lines of reality to suit our needs.”

She also claims that her husband was anything but a bully and that she hoped Swift learned how to love and believe in herself as Braun does in her.

RELATED TOPICS KIM KARDASHIAN JUSTIN BIEBER KANYE WEST ARIANA GRANDE DEMI LOVATO TAYLOR SWIFT
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