Taylor Swift Lays Out Accusations Against Kanye, Kim Kardashian, & Kanye’s Former Manager
By James Barrett - The Daily Wire
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Taylor Swift laid out a series of accusations Sunday after the former manager of Kanye West purchased the rights to all of her past albums for $300 million.
Swift, who has been in the headlines for more than her music increasingly over the last year, posted a statement on Tumblr Sunday slamming Big Machine founder Scott Borchetta for selling the rights to all six of her past albums to Scooter Braun, Kanye's former manager. Braun, she alleged, was involved in "incessant, manipulative bullying" of her "for years," with the help of West and Kardashian.
"Some fun facts about today’s news: I learned about Scooter Braun’s purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world," she writes in a "sad and grossed out" post on Tumblr Sunday. "All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years. Like when Kim Kardashian orchestrated an illegally recorded snippet of a phone call to be leaked and then Scooter got his two clients together to bully me online about it. (See photo in Tumblr post) Or when his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked."
"Now Scooter has stripped me of my life’s work, that I wasn’t given an opportunity to buy," she continues. "Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it."
Swift's "revenge porn" accusation is a reference to Kanye's "Famous" video in which West appears to be lying in bed with several nude celebrities, including what appears to be a fully naked Swift lying next to him. A few months ago, Swift liked a post by one of her fans calling the "Famous" video "straight up revenge porn": "The ['Famous'] music video was straight up revenge porn. not to mention putting abuse victims next to their abusers and celebrating sexual assaulters. it was disgusting and he doesn’t get enough crap for it."
As Fox News notes, Swift's accusation against Kardashian is a reference to her "infamous recording of Swift and West's 'snippet' of a phone call in which [Swift] appeared to give her blessing to the lyrics to his song 'Famous.'" After Swift publicly denied giving West permission to use her name in the song, Kardashian posted the "snippet" on Snapchat.
In 2018, Swift signed with Republic Records, which she praises in her post for believing "I should own anything I create."
Below is Swift's full post about Braun on Tumblr:
For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work. Instead I was given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and ‘earn’ one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in. I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future. I had to make the excruciating choice to leave behind my past. Music I wrote on my bedroom floor and videos I dreamed up and paid for from the money I earned playing in bars, then clubs, then arenas, then stadiums.
Some fun facts about today’s news: 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.
Like when Kim Kardashian orchestrated an illegally recorded snippet of a phone call to be leaked and then Scooter got his two clients together to bully me online about it. (See photo) Or when his client, Kanye West, organized a revenge porn music video which strips my body naked. Now Scooter has stripped me of my life’s work, that I wasn’t given an opportunity to buy. Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it.
This is my worst case scenario. This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term ‘loyalty’ is clearly just a contractual concept. And when that man says ‘Music has value’, he means its value is beholden to men who had no part in creating it.
When I left my masters in Scott’s hands, I made peace with the fact that eventually he would sell them. 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.
Thankfully, I am now signed to a label that believes I should own anything I create. Thankfully, I left my past in Scott’s hands and not my future. And hopefully, young artists or kids with musical dreams will read this and learn about how to better protect themselves in a negotiation. You deserve to own the art you make.
I will always be proud of my past work. But for a healthier option, Lover will be out August 23.
Sad and grossed out,
Taylor
Updates VIA the TMZ Staff
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3:23 PM PDT -- Justin Bieber just went to bat for Scooter Braun in the nicest way possible, both apologizing to Taylor Swift for any hard feelings ... but also making it clear -- Scooter ain't the bad guy. Bieber threw up an IG post hours after Taylor's tirade, saying he was sorry for his 2016 post which seemed to be making fun T-Swift, but clarifying that Scooter actually encouraged him at the time not to post it. Check out his full response, it's clear he's got Scooter's back.
4:21 PM PDT -- Scooter Braun's wife, Yael, just went scorched earth on Taylor Swift, calling BS on her claim that she discovered the news of Scooter's purchase like the rest of us ... and also claiming that Taylor passed on owning the rights to her old tunes. On Instagram, Yael writes, "You were given the opportunity to own your masters, you passed." Yael also confirmed what TMZ reported -- that Taylor's dad knew about the purchase ahead of time. She writes, "Your dad is a shareholder and was notified, and Borchetta [the CEO of Big Machine] personally told you before this came out. So no, you didn't find out with the world." Yael also goes on to slam Taylor's tendency to "collect and drop friends like wilted flowers." There's more, you just gotta read it yourself.
4:47 PM PDT -- Taylor's rep is shooting down the idea that her father was part of the Big Machine board of directors and insisting he was simply a shareholder who opted out of a phone call with the big news. The rep told People, "Scott Swift is not on the board of directors and has never been. On June 25, there was a shareholder phone call that Scott Swift did not participate in due to a very strict NDA that bound all shareholders and prohibited any discussion at all without risk of severe penalty." The rep went on to say that Taylor's dad didn't want to withhold info from his daughter, so he didn't join the call. Taylor's camp is also refuting Yael's notion that Scott Borchetta gave Taylor a heads-up about the purchase beforehand, saying ... "Taylor found out from the news articles when she woke up before seeing any text from Scott Borchetta and he did not call her in advance."
6:45 PM PDT -- Erik Logan, a member of the Big Machine board of directors, just posted the following ... "I'm not going to sit on the sidelines and allow you to re-write history and bend the truth to justify your lack of understanding of a business deal ... I also find it very interesting you use the word bully. As I watch you attempt to re-write history and parse words, all from your massive platform, I'm reminded that's what a real bully would do ... You're the real bully."
Logan goes on ... "Your power is fading, you shine is dull and this is what bully's do, they lash out."
Scott Borchetta, CEO and founder of Big Machine, just posted this ... "We first alerted all of the shareholders on Thursday, June 20th, for an official shareholder's call scheduled for Tuesday, June 25th ... Out of courtesy, I personally texted Taylor at 9:06 PM, Saturday, June 29th, to inform her prior to the story breaking ..."
He goes on to say it's possible Taylor's dad didn't tell her in advance.