He’s made plenty of enemies over his years in the music business, but he knows who he can trust.
Scooter Braun was spotted on Thursday as he spent the 4th of July holiday at a parade in Los Angeles with his friend and client Justin Bieber, 25, and his wife Hailey Bieber, 22, as well as Ashton Kutcher, 41, and Mila Kunis, 35.
The 38-year-old music manager and new label head was celebrating amid his ongoing conflict with Taylor Swift, 29, after he bought her old music label and her master recordings.
Getting away from it: Scooter Braun, 38, took a break from his feud with Taylor Swift to spend the 4th of July with his friend and client Justin Bieber, 25, plus Hailey Bieber, 22, Ashton Kutcher, 41, and Mila Kunis, 35; pictured in November
It was the first time Scooter and Justin have been seen together since Justin’s attempts to defend Scooter online, which many followers considered tone-deaf.
The music insider set off the controversy when he purchased Big Machine records, which Taylor was signed to from 2005 to 2018, from Scott Borchetta for a reported $300 million, and with it acquired the ME! hitmaker’s back catalog of master recordings.
Following the news, Taylor — who has previously accused Scooter of ‘bullying’ her — posted a lengthy statement in which she said she felt ‘grossed out’ by the business deal, and insisted she never got a chance to buy her master recordings herself.
Since her post, several celebrity pals of both parties have jumped to the defense of both Scooter and Taylor, and Scooter has now said he’s doing okay in the wake of the drama.
Together again: It was the first time Scooter and Justin have been seen together since Justin’s attempts to defend Scooter online; pictured July 3
Unexpected faces: Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher were among those celebrating the 4th of July at a parade with Scooter, Justin and Hailey Bieber
When one fan wrote on Instagram on Thursday to tell him to ‘ignore the trolls’ and to remind him he is ‘loved,’ he replied, ‘I’m good. Thanks.’
Scooter also responded to a few negative comments, but chose to stay calm and reply with kind messages. Responding to a message that read ‘F*** YOU,’ he wrote: ‘Bless you.’
And when another critic said, ‘I hope you get the karma you deserve,’ he responded: ‘Me too. Thank you. Have a good one.’
Aggressive move: Scooter’s conflict began when he bought Taylor Swift’s old record label, along with her master recordings, which she claimed she hadn’t been allowed to buy for herself; pictured in March
The news comes after it was claimed Scooter — who manages the likes of Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande — was open to having a private conversation with Taylor, but wouldn’t be commenting on the feud publicly.
‘Scooter is open to having a private conversation with Taylor to clear up everything that went down,’ a source told Us Weekly. ‘He reposted some messages of support on his Instagram Stories, but he has no intention of releasing a formal statement and blowing up the situation even more than it already has been.
‘This is between Scooter and Taylor, not the world.’
Not helping: Justin shared a poorly received Instagram post last month that apologized for an earlier post mocking Taylor with a Kanye West connection, while also defending Scooter; pictured with Usher in 2013
So far, the likes of Taylor’s ME! collaborator Brendon Urie, Halsey, and Cara Delevingne have publicly shared messages of support for Taylor.
Nicki Minaj, Adele, Miley Cyrus, Gwen Stefani, Rihanna, Lana Del Rey, Selena Gomez and Camila Cabello have all reportedly stopped following Scooter on social media since the row broke out.
Ariana Grande originally posted a message of support for Scooter on her Instagram Story but later deleted the post, while Justin Bieber, has publicly defended him.
Demi Lovato also spoke in his defense, and has since announced she is taking a break from social media.
Family time: On Friday, Scooter shared a sweet photo of his son jumping into his arms in their backyard pool
On Friday, Scooter shared a sweet poolside family photo.
The music manager was in his backyard pool and had his arms up to catch his son as he jumped in.
‘Best day ever,’ he captioned the snap.