Cara Delevingne Defends Taylor Swift Over Scooter Braun Controversy — and Blasts Justin Bieber
Cara Delevingne is coming to bat for Taylor Swift.
The model and actress, 26, blasted Justin Bieber and his wife, Hailey Baldwin, on Sunday for defending Scooter Braun after Swift, 29, accused him of being “manipulative.”
“Gentleman,” Baldwin, 22, commented on her husband’s Sunday post, which featured a throwback image of Bieber and Swift and in part apologized for a “distasteful and insensitive” post he made in 2016, but also defended Braun’s character saying Swift’s takedown of him “isn’t fair.”
“Gentleman? @haileybieber @justinbieber you must be bored,” Delevingne comment on the singer’s post. “I wish you spent less time sticking up for men and more time trying to understand women and respecting their valid reactions. As a married man, you should be lifting women up instead of tearing them down because you are threatened. I am not sure you actually understand what an apology is.”
“This issue that @taylorswift is talking out is about far more than a picture and you know that. As you said, you haven’t spoken to her in years which means you definitely don’t understand the situation. I do,” continued Delevingne, who starred in Swift’s “Bad Blood” music video in 2015. “Take a step back and try to learn from this. We should all be on the same team. End of story.”
The “Sorry” singer’s post came shortly after Swift slammed Braun following his acquisition of her musical catalog via a $300 million sale that saw his Ithaca Holdings acquire Big Machine Label Group from founder, Scott Borchetta, who worked with Swift from 2006 until she left Big Machine for Universal Music Group late last year.
Swift expressed her disdain for Braun, 38, in a Tumblr blog post on Sunday, claiming that he used Bieber and on-and-off client Kanye West to bully her on social media following her feud with the 42-year-old rapper over the lyrics of his song “Famous.”
Bieber’s lengthy message on Sunday began by addressing the August 2016 post, in which he shared a FaceTime call between himself and Braun — who could be seen with West.
“Taylor swift what up,” Bieber captioned the post, which Swift screen-shotted and shared in her Sunday Tumblr post about the sale.
“Hey Taylor,” Bieber began his Sunday message. “First of all I would like to apologize for posting that hurtful instagram post, at the time I thought it was funny but looking back it was distasteful and insensitive … I have to be honest though it was my caption and post that I screenshoted [sic] of scooter and Kanye that said ‘taylor swift what up’ he didnt have anything to do with it and it wasnt even a part of the conversation in all actuality he was the person who told me not to joke like that.”
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Bieber then went on to claim that the talent manager has had Swift’s “back” since the days when she “graciously” let Bieber open up for her on tour a decade ago.
“As the years have passed we haven’t crossed paths and gotten to communicate our differences, hurts or frustrations,” Bieber wrote. “So for you to take it to social media and get people to hate on Scooter isn’t fair. 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.”
“Anyway, One thing i know is both scooter and i love you,” he continued. “I feel like the only way to resolve conflict is through communication. So banter back and fourth [sic] online I dont believe solves anything. I’m sure Scooter and I would love to talk to you and resolve any conflict, pain or or [sic] any feelings that need to be addressed. Neither scooter or I have anything negative to say about you we truly want the best for you.”
Bieber concluded his message by saying, “I usually don’t rebuttal things like this but when you try and deface someone i loves character thats crossing a line … “
Swift held nothing back in her Tumblr post on Sunday, slamming Braun — who, aside from Bieber, also manages Ariana Grande — for “the incessant, manipulative bullying” she alleged she has “received at his hands for years.”
The “You Need to Calm Down” singer wrote that she had tried for years to own her own music from Big Machine, and was told that she could only do so if she signed a new contract that gave her ownership of one of her old albums for every new one she completed.
“I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future,” she wrote. “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.”
Swift said learning that it was Braun who had ultimately purchased her masters from Borchetta was her “worst nightmare,” explaining, “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.”
“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,” she wrote. “This is my worst case scenario. This is what happens when you sign a deal at 15 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.”
The Grammy-winning singer also expressed disappointment in Borchetta for selling to Braun, as she explained he was well aware of the pain the executive had brought her.
“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,” she wrote. “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.”
Swift concluded her note with a grateful shout-out to her current label for allowing her the opportunity to own any new music she creates, and with a reminder that her new album Lover hits shelves Aug. 23. She also signed off, “Sad and grossed out, Taylor,” with a broken-heart emoji.
Borchetta, whose rep declined to comment to PEOPLE, defended new business partner Braun, in a letter posted to his label’s web site on Sunday. “As to her comments about ‘being in tears or close to it’ anytime my new partner Scooter Braun’s name was brought up, I certainly never experienced that,” he wrote. “Was I aware of some prior issues between Taylor and Justin Bieber? Yes. But there were also times where Taylor knew that I was close to Scooter and that Scooter was a very good source of information for upcoming album releases, tours, etc, and I’d reach out to him for information on our behalf,” Borchetta continued. “Scooter has always been and will continue to be a supporter and honest custodian for Taylor and her music.”
