Scooter Braun Says He Received Death Threats After Taylor Swift Publicly Criticizes Him

“I assume this was not your intention, but it’s important that you understand that your words carry a tremendous amount of weight,” Braun says in Instagram post

Taylor Swift Scooter Braun
Getty

Scooter Braun, the music manager and head of the music label Big Machine that acquired Taylor Swift’s catalog of songs, says he and his family have received death threats in the days since the pop star publicly called him out on Twitter.

Swift said last week that Braun and his company would not allow her to perform a medley of her old music at the American Music Awards. On Friday, Braun posted a lengthy public statement asking for a resolution in the social media feud on Instagram.

“I came home tonight to find my wife had received a phone call threatening the safety of our children, as well as other threats seen above,” he wrote. “I write this now only after a deep breath and much reflection. I am certain there is no situation ever worth jeopardizing anyone’s safety. I assume this was not your intention, but it’s important that you understand that your words carry a tremendous amount of weight and that your message can be interpreted in some different ways.”

Braun goes on to say that Swift’s lawyers were notified of the ongoing death threats four days ago, and he says that attempts to reach Swift for an open discussion about resolving the rights issues over the last six months have all been rejected.

“It almost feels as if you have no interest in ever resolving the conflict. At this point with safety becoming a concern, I have no choice but to publicly ask for us to come together to try and find a resolution,” Braun said. “I have tried repeatedly through your representatives to reach a solution but unfortunately here we are. This game of telephone isn’t working.”

A rep for Swift didn’t immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.

Swift surrendered ownership of her masters when she left Big Machine for a new deal at Republic Records ahead of her latest album, “Lover,” which was released earlier this year. Under the current arrangement, Swift is forbidden to re-record any of her old hits until 2020.

Days after Swift made her public statement saying she that would be barred from performing old songs at the AMAs, Big Machine Label Group and Dick Clark Productions put out a statement saying that the two companies had reached an agreement that would allow her to perform. However, the AMAs producer responded that no agreement between Dick Clark and Big Machine took place.

Braun insists in his latest post that Swift does have permission to perform any song she chooses and does not legally need anyone’s permission to do so.

“Moving forward I would like to find a resolution. I will make myself available whenever works for you. Many have told me that a meeting will never happen because this is not about truth or resolution but instead a narrative for you. I am hopeful that is not the case,” he said. “But if you would prefer to make large public statements while refusing to work towards resolving things amicably, then I pray that nobody gets seriously hurt in the process.”

The AMAs dispute is just the latest in a public back-and-forth between Swift and Braun’s camps, which began when Braun took ownership of Big Machine earlier this summer and Swift voiced her objection online.

Swift, who accused Braun of orchestrating her public 2016 feud with Kanye West, wrote in a July Tumblr post that she felt “sad and grossed out” about the sale of her recordings to Braun. She later announced in an August interview with “CBS This Morning” that she plans to re-record her back catalog of hits, ranging from her debut through her 2017 album “Reputation.”

See Braun’s post below, and see Swift’s initial statement over the AMAs dispute here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5KRVxYn4E3/?utm_source=ig_embed

Comments