The feud between Scooter Braun and Taylor Swift just reached a new echelon of petty. The music mogul just threw some not-so-subtle shade at Taylor Swift via the FaceApp ageing filter that has taken the internet by storm.
Braun shared a post on Instagram utilising the filter to make himself look older, with the caption “Last couple of weeks have really taken a toll on me.”
There truly is nothing more impressive than a 38-year-old man taking a jab at a young, female artist.
The public feud between the pair stems from an open letter Taylor Swift penned on her Tumblr account. In the letter, Swift expressed her heartbreak over the news that Braun had acquired the rights to her entire back catalogue (Self Titled, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, Reputation.)
Braun’s Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine Records – the label Taylor Swift released all of her albums on up until 2019 – for $300 million. Effectively rendering the rights to all of Swift’s music to Braun.
Swift described the acquisition as a “worst case scenario”, claiming that Braun was responsible for “incessant, manipulative bullying” over the years.
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of metal, rock, indie, pop, and everything else in between.
Watch: Taylor Swift – ‘Delicate’
After the debacle was made public knowledge, a slew of musicians weighed in on the debate. Justin Bieber —a longtime client of the manager— came to the defence of Braun, as did Braun’s wife Yael Cohen, who claims that Swift had been told about the acquisition previously and her statement was an overreaction.
Adelaide pop monolith Sia took Braun’s side in the battle, a move that backfired when Swift fans with sleuthing finesse uncovered old footage of Sia performing in blackface.
Sia defended herself against the accusations, claiming that she was painting herself a black background. “For the Swift fans trying to make out that I would ever do blackface please see this video,” Sia wrote on Twitter. “I was painting myself into the backdrop, it was a pre cursor to the wig.”
Kelly Clarkson came to the support of Swift, encouraging her to re-record all the music that she doesn’t own the masters to.
Noel Gallagher could not be more passionately apathetic towards either Braun or Swift. Gallagher proudly proclaimed that the pair are “just American idiots.”
“You don’t own your own f—ing shit, which is why when I finally left Oasis, I started my own record label, because I wanted to own them,” he shared.
“But I’m aware of the story of Taylor Swift and some idiot called f—ing Scooter. Scooter? Is that even a real name? [He adopts an American surfer accent.] ‘Scooter. F—ing Scooter.’ Um, I’m not a fan of Taylor Swift. I’m less of a fan of Scooter Brown or whatever his f—ing name is. They’re just American idiots. Which, really, I’d be f—ing ashamed of them, if I were you.”
