UPDATE: (July 2, 2019 12:10am ET): A source close to Ariana tells HollywoodLife.com that the support post is “fake.”
UPDATE (July 1, 2019 9:58pm ET): E! News now claims that the social media post is fake. “In other words, Ariana Grande has not spoken out about the highly publicized situation betweenTaylor Swift and Scooter Braun,” they said.
ORIGINAL POST: Taylor Swift is still reeling after finding out that enemy Scooter Braun purchased Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Records for $300 million, thus obtaining the rights to her six album catalog. While many in the industry are picking sides, Scooter’s client Ariana Grande, 26, had a diplomatic response and told the “ME” hit maker to “stay strong.” In a now deleted July 1 Instagram stories post, she also sent her love to Taylor amid the drama.
“I would never support someone with the intentions of hurting another person….” she wrote according to screenshots of the story that appeared on Twitter. “I spoke to him myself as soon as I heard. I don’t mean to make this public or get involved but I’ve noticed mixed opinions where people used my name… please spread love. I’m so so sorry Tay. Ily. Stay strong.”
When news broke on June 30 that Scooter, 38, had acquired Big Machine, Ariana initially posted a pic of a story about it as a congratulatory measure. But she quickly took it down once Taylor took to Tumblr to express her disgust at the music manager owning her life’s work. In the post the 28-year-old wrote: “I learned about Scooter Braun’s purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world. All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years.”
https://twitter.com/iza16081/status/1145751089070903296
Taylor called it her “worst case scenario” and “Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine the buyer would be Scooter. Any time Scott Borchetta has heard the words ‘Scooter Braun’ escape my lips, it was when I was either crying or trying not to. He knew what he was doing; they both did. Controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated with them. In perpetuity. That means forever.” She’s now with Universal Music Group’s Republic Records, where she will have control of her masters.
Scooter’s most famous client Justin Bieber called out Taylor for her post, taking to Instagram and writing “For you to take it to social media and get people to hate on scooter isn’t fair,” he explained. “What were you trying to accomplish by posting that blog? seems to me like it was to get sympathy u also knew that in posting that your fans would go and bully scooter.” Demi Lovato — who recently signed with Scooter — has also thrown her support behind him, calling him “a good man” in an IG story. Taylor can count Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Halsey Brendon Urie and Iggy Azalea in her corner, as all of them have fully supported the singer and her desire to have control over her album catalog.