Two sides to every story. Scooter Braun’s wife, Yael Cohen, fired back at Taylor Swift on Instagram after the pop star blasted the talent manager’s acquisition of her former label, Big Machine Records, and her masters.
“I have never been one for a public airing of laundry, but when you attack my husband… here we go,” Cohen, 32, wrote in a three-page note posted on Sunday, June 30. “Let’s start with @taylorswift, whoa. Then let’s get the facts straight. You were given the opportunity to own your masters, you passed. Interesting that the man you’re so ‘grossed out’ by believed in you more than you believe in yourself.”
The F–k Cancer founder and CEO noted that Swift’s father, Scott, “is a shareholder” in Big Machine and “was notified” of the deal before the public announcement. Additionally, the label’s founder, Scott Borchetta, “personally told [Swift] before this came out,” according to Cohen, who went on to dispute Swift’s claim that she found out about the news with the rest of the world.
“And girl, who are you to talk about bullying?” Cohen continued. “The world has watched you collect and drop friends like wilted flowers. My husband is anything but a bully, he’s spent his life standing up for people and causes he believes in. Beyond that, it’s easy to see that the point of putting this out was to get people to bully him. You are supposed to be a role model, but continue to model bullying.”
In an explosive Tumblr post earlier on Sunday, Swift, 29, accused Braun, 38, of “incessant, manipulative bullying,” citing his relationship with his client and her longtime nemesis Kanye West as an example. In 2016, the rapper’s wife, Kim Kardashian, posted a series of Snapchat videos containing excerpts of a phone call between Swift and West, 42, who had requested permission to use the “Bad Blood” singer’s name in his song “Famous.” However, Swift claimed West did not inform her that he would also refer to her as “that bitch” in the track. The rivals, who had already been at odds since West ambushed Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, have had a strained relationship ever since.
“Don’t blame [Scooter] because Kim caught you in a lie, it’s embarrassing I know- but adults own up to their mistakes,” Cohen wrote on Sunday. “We learn and grow from them, we don’t divert blame and blur the lines of reality to suit our needs.”
The entrepreneur wrote that Braun “was so excited to work and build” with Swift. “How embarrassing this temper tantrum is because you didn’t get your own way,” she added.
“I hope you have the dignity, class and kindness to leave your fans out of this and have an open discussion,” Cohen wrote. “Tumblr can’t fix this, a phone call can.”
Swift, who called Braun’s acquisition of her back catalog her “worst case scenario,” has not publicly addressed Cohen’s Instagram post.
Since the “Me!” singer took to Tumblr on Sunday, several celebrities have spoken out and taken sides. Braun’s clients Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato defended him, while Halsey and Iggy Azalea stood up for Swift. Borchetta, 56, also spoke out, claiming in a blog post that Swift “had every chance in the world to own not just her master recordings, but every video, photograph, everything associated to her career,” yet she still “chose to leave” Big Machine.
