Taylor Swift bully Scooter Braun praises ‘Lover’ album amid fiery feud
Talent manager Scooter Braun, the recently minted Taylor Swift target, extended an olive branch to the pop star upon the release of her seventh studio album, “Lover,” on Friday — an album he opportunely dubbed “brilliant.”
Braun, you might recall, acquired the rights to Swift’s past recordings through the purchase of her former label, Big Machine Label Group. That move drew the ire of the Grammy winner in June when she claimed that her legacy would “lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it. In that same Tumblr post, Swift mentioned “the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years.”
As bad blood hemorrhaged for months, Braun attempted to stanch the wound with a strategically timed show of support.
Taylor Swift’s last four albums have each sold more than 1 million copies in the first week, but “Lover,” due Friday, is predicted to do considerably fewer.
“Regardless of what has been said the truth is you don’t make big bets unless you are a believer and always have been,” he tweeted late Thursday. “Brilliant album with #Lover. Congrats @taylorswift13. Supporting was always the healthier option.”
Swift’s fans dragged the manager in replies, criticizing him for being disingenuous and capitalizing on the media moment.
The drama between the singer and manager raged on this week when Swift revealed that she will rerecord her catalog in the wake of Big Machine Label Group chief Scott Borchetta’s recent sale of the company for $300 million — and with it all of her first six albums.
Following a public dispute with super-manager Scooter Braun, who purchased her master recordings in June, Taylor Swift plans to record new versions of her old songs.
Swift has not yet responded to the tweet, but wrote on Instagram that “Lover,” an album that is “a celebration of love,” has special meaning because it’s the first album of hers that she’s ever owned. When her original contract with Big Machine expired, she signed with the Universal Music Group-owned label Republic Records, which launched “Lover” on Friday.
The 18-track album features the already-released singles “Me!” and the pro-LGBTQ anthem “You Need to Calm Down.” Swift also dropped the album’s titular track earlier this month and debuted its corresponding music video on Thursday.
And, after years of resisting digital music platforms, the album is now streaming.
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