Kill ‘em with kindness? Scooter Braun sent a clear message amid his feud with Taylor Swift over the upcoming American Music Awards.
“Words to live by 😁,” the 38-year-old talent manager wrote alongside a post that reads, “Kindness is the only response,” on Tuesday, November 19, via Instagram.
Braun and Swift, 29, have been at odds since June when he acquired her back catalog of master recordings as part of his purchase of Big Machine Records. The “Lover” songstress called the sale her “worst case scenario” in a lengthy Tumblr post at the time.
“When I left my masters in Scott’s hands, I made peace with the fact that eventually he would sell them. Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter,” she wrote, referring to CEO of Big Machine Records Scott Borchetta. “Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words ‘Scooter Braun’ escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to. He knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated with them. In perpetuity. That means forever.”
The drama was fueled earlier this month when Swift claimed that Braun and Borchetta tried to prevent her from performing her old music at the AMAs on Sunday, November 24, when she accepts the Artist of the Decade award.
“I just want to be able to perform MY OWN music. That’s it,” Swift wrote on Thursday, November 14. “I’ve tried to work this out privately through my team but have not been able to resolve anything. Right now, my performance at the AMA’s, the Netflix documentary and any other recorded events I am planning to play until November of 2020 are a question mark.”
After Big Machine released a statement claiming that they “do not have the right to keep [Swift] from performing live anywhere,” the company claimed they came to an agreement with Dick Clark Productions regarding the AMA awards. Dick Clark Productions, however, denied reaching the agreement.
“At no time did Dick Clark Productions agree to, create, authorize or distribute a statement in partnership with Big Machine Label Group regarding Taylor Swift’s performance at the 2019 American Music Awards,” the production company said in a statement on Monday, November 18. “Any final agreement on this matter needs to be made directly with Taylor Swift’s management team. We have no further comment.”
