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A comprehensive guide to exactly who's on whose side in the Taylor Swift vs Scooter Braun feud.

 

When Taylor Swift penned a Tumblr post about her horror of learning that her back catalogue had been sold to music manager Scooter Braun, she drew metaphorical battle lines right down the middle of the music industry.

And since then, stars have been jumping to make their side clear.

First, here’s a quick refresher:

Swift learned that her long-time manager Scott Borchetta, who she parted ways with in 2018 after 12 years, sold his label Big Machine Records to Scooter Braun, the controversial manager of Justin Bieber and she was very unhappy about it.

Borchetta owned the rights to her music, which means Braun now stands to make millions off of Swift’s past releases.

This was especially problematic to her due to what she described as the “incessant, manipulative bullying” she had dealt with from Braun for years.

At the heart of the war is the issue of an artists’ rights to their music, but it’s been well and truly overshadowed by a game of celebrity he-said, she-said.

With so many names and accusations flying about it’s all a bit confusing, but we’ve done you a solid and made lists of everyone who has said something, and who’s side they’re on.

Team Taylor Swift.

Sure, the squad may have disbanded, but Swift remains a popular (and powerful) person in the music biz. Since speaking out about her “worst nightmare”, she’s had more than just her fans rally behind her.

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Halsey.

Fellow female artist Halsey was one of the first to publicly support Swift. She published a message on Twitter, saying she was backing one of her musical inspirations and the rights of songwriters to own their craft.

“She deserves to own the painstaking labour of her heart,” Halsey wrote.

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“And it turns my guts that no matter how much power or success a woman has in this life, you are still susceptible to someone coming along and making you feel powerless out of spite.”

Ed Sheeran.

Ed Sheeran is never one to get involved in drama publicly, and at first this was no different… until his Instagram posts were inundated with messages from fans asking him to show Swift support.

Sheeran and Swift have been close friends for years and have collaborated numerous times.

He didn’t explicitly say anything about the drama, but confirmed he’d been in touch with his pal.

ed sheeran taylor swift
Image: Instagram.
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Cara Delevingne.

In Swift's Tumblr letter, she calls out Justin Bieber – who was discovered by Braun in 2008 and is his biggest client – for mocking her in 2016, when that whole Kimye/Swift drama was going down.

In response, Bieber took to Instagram to first apologise for his original post and then defend Braun.

Cara Delevingne was not. here. for. it.

Cara Delevingne responded to Bieber's post, slamming his apology and his wife Hailey Bieber – who had earlier commented "gentleman" on the post.

"I wish you spent less time sticking up for men and more time trying to understand women and respecting their valid reactions," she wrote.

"The issue that @taylorswift is talking about is far more than a picture and you know that. As you said, you haven’t spoken to her in years which means you definitely don’t understand the situation. I do. Take a step back and try and learn from this. We should all be on the same team. End of story."

Bieber deleted her comment, but it has been immortalised on Instagram account Comments By Celebs.

 

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A post shared by Comments By Celebs (@commentsbycelebs) on

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Iggy Azalea.

The rapper tweeted her support for Swift, saying that even if Swift had found out about the deal a few days before it was made public, she still wouldn't have been able to stop it.

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Todrick Hall.

One of the first to come out on Taylor Swift's side was close friend, singer and YouTuber Todrick Hall, who also used to be represented by Braun.

In his tweets, he described Braun as "an evil person who's only concern is his wealth and feeding his disgusting ego".

Hall said he fired Braun as his manager as he wasn't being treated as a priority and said he felt like Braun was "homophobic".

And he didn't stop there: Hall also had words for Yael Cohen Braun, Braun's wife, and Hailey Bieber who supported their husbands.

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After Hall said he thought Braun was homophobic, Demi Lovato (another Braun client) commented on his Instagram:

"Hey boo, idk you or anything and this isn’t hate, but making claims that someone is homophobic is really serious. Please don’t spread information that isn’t true because I can guarantee you Scooter isn’t. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, he wouldn’t have signed me if he was. No hate just trying to clear that up."

She later deleted the comment, but not before Hall saw it.

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"You cannot compare your experience to mine, especially with someone I was with for six years and you’ve only just signed with," he responded.

"PSA, Just because you have a black friend doesn’t mean you can’t still be racist. And just because you’re not picketing against gay marriage doesn’t mean you’re not homophobic. I said what I said and I believe what I believe."

Selena Gomez...'s mum.

Selena Gomez recently admitted she does not run her own social media accounts (she said Instagram had an adverse impact on her mental health, so fair enough!), so it's no surprise that Swift's long-time BFF hasn't herself posted anything publicly.

But her mum Mandy Teefey has – and that's probably as close as we're going to get.

(It's also worth noting Gomez would've known Braun well, considering her on-again, off-again relationship with Bieber).

"I wish I could give you a big hug right now," Teefey wrote to Swift.

"Thank you for speaking out about this and teaching future young artists about protecting themselves. I don’t understand the pleasure of power plays to simply hurt people! To deny you the option to own your blood, sweat and tears, especially as a young women who shared growing up in front of the world, is heartbreaking!!"

Brendon Urie.

Panic! at the Disco's Brendon Urie is Swift's most recent collaborator, appearing on her single "ME!".

During a live stream on Twitch, Urie confirmed he was definitely #TeamTayTay.

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"This f*cking Scooter Braun sh*t, like what a piece of sh*t, right?" he said.

"You guys know about this dude? It just like broke my heart, I read Taylor's statement and I was like, 'That sounds about right,' ya know. Toxic dudes doing toxic bullsh*t in this toxic industry."

He continued: "I stand with Taylor, of course: It's a sh*t show to learn how awful people can be... just for some profit... and maybe some clout."

Haim.

Haim shared Swift's blog post on their band Instagram and Danielle Haim and Este Haim also posted it on their personal profiles.

"Sometimes I'm reminded how fucked up and slimy this business is. This is one of those times," Danielle wrote.

Martha Hunt.

Original #squad member and Victoria's Secret model Martha Hunt was obviously on her friend's side.

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Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.

For real.

Speidi are big Swift fans (her music is regularly featured in the background of Pratt's Instagram videos showing off his crystals) so naturally they wanted to show their love. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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Montag used the hashtag #IStandWithTaylor, and Pratt was hoping the drama would leave to some new music.

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Team Scooter Braun.

Braun represents a series of very powerful artists – along with Bieber, he's the manager of Ariana Grande, Carly Rae Jepsen and Demi Lovato. Oh, and he used to rep Kanye.

He's definitely got friends in the industry, and some have spoken out for him.

Justin Bieber.

Obviously Bieber is sticking by his long-time manager.

As mentioned, Bieber posted a lengthy Insta post addressing Swift's Tumblr post, first apologising for mocking her and then defending Braun.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on

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"Hey Taylor. First of all I would like to apologise for posting that hurtful Instagram post, at the time I thought it was funny but looking back it was distasteful and insensitive," Bieber wrote.

"Scooter has had your back since the days you graciously let me open up for you! As the years have passed we haven’t crossed paths and gotten to communicate our differences, hurts or frustrations."

He wrote that is wasn't fair for Taylor to air this publicly, as it would inevitably lead to her fans hating on Braun.

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"Anyway, one thing I know is both Scooter and I love you. I feel like the only way to resolve conflict is through communication. So banter back and fourth [sic] online I don't believe solves anything. I’m sure Scooter and I would love to talk to you and resolve any conflict, pain or or any feelings that need to be addressed. Neither Scooter or I have anything negative to say about you we truly want the best for you."

Yael Cohen Braun, Scooter Braun's wife.

Braun's wife Yael Cohen Braun shared a post to Instagram calling Swift out for "attacking her husband".

She disputed Swift's claims and referred to her Tumblr post as a "temper tantrum".

 

View this post on Instagram

 

@taylorswift, I’m here to talk privately anytime.

A post shared by Yael Cohen Braun (@yael) on

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Demi Lovato.

Demi Lovato, who signed Braun on as her manager in May, posted on her Instagram story defending him.

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Image: Instagram.
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demi lovato instagram
Image: Instagram.

 

She then disputed Todrick Hall's claim that Braun was homophobic, but deleted her comment.

Sia.

On Twitter, Sia called Braun "a good kind man".

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Kendall Jenner.

Kendall Jenner declared herself #TeamScooter when she liked the Instagram post that Yael Braun shared. It makes sense considering her friendship with Hailey Bieber and uh, the fact she's related to Kimye.

Oh.

Considering how big his story is in Hollywood and for the music business, we can expect more celebs to come out on both sides.

We'll also wait to see if Swift or Braun have anything further to add...

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