Sia Denies Using Blackface After Taylor Swift Fans Uncover 2011 Video of Singer Performing Onstage
Sia is setting the record straight over accusations of racism.
On Monday, the singer, 43, came to the defense of Scooter Braun amid drama with Taylor Swift, who accused the prominent music manager of “manipulative bullying” after he acquired her entire musical catalog.
Sia was one of the many celebrities to weigh in on the issue, writing on Twitter, “You’re a good kind man @scooterbraun. I hope this passes quickly. I love you keep going.”
The sentiment, however, resulted in some blowback from Swift’s fans, including those who accused the “Cheap Thrills” singer of performing concerts in blackface after they uncovered footage of Sia’s face and neck covered in black paint.
Three hours later, the star — who now typically wears wigs that cover her face while onstage to protect her identity — responded with a follow-up tweet and explained what her intentions were for painting her face.
“For the swift fans trying to make out that I would ever do blackface please see this video,” she wrote alongside a clip from the concert illustrating her point. “I was painting myself into the backdrop, it was a precursor to the wig…”
For the swift fans trying to make out that I would ever do blackface please see this video. I was painting myself into the backdrop, it was a pre cursor to the wig... https://t.co/6St0hWl1k1
— sia (@Sia) July 2, 2019
Sia wasn’t the only star to publicly defend Braun, 38, and subsequently, risk facing the wrath of the Swifties.
Demi Lovato, who signed with Braun back in May, also defended her manager on Instagram, describing him as a “good man” and declaring her loyalty to her “team.”
“I have dealt with bad people in the industry and Scooter is not one of them. He’s a good man. Personally, I’m grateful he came into my life when he did. Please stop ‘dragging’ people or bullying them. There’s enough hate in this world as it is,” Lovato, 26, wrote.
RELATED: Taylor Swift’s Former Label Head Denies Singer’s Claims Scooter Braun Was ‘Bullying’ Her
Perhaps sensing she’d be facing backlash, the “Tell Me You Love Me” singer added, “Y’all can come after me all you want but I’m always gonna stay loyal to my team. I value loyalty more than most people in this world and if my name is gonna be brought into conversations I’m gonna stand up for myself and the ones on my team.”
Justin Bieber, who was at the heart of the bullying drama, also took his manager’s side.
Bieber, 25, wrote a lengthy Instagram message apologizing for a 2016 Instagram post that Swift had provided as evidence of said bullying, but denied that Braun was responsible.
“Scooter has had your back since the days you graciously let me open up for you.!” wrote Bieber, who admitted he hasn’t spoken to Swift in years. “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 concluded, “Neither scooter or I have anything negative to say about you we truly want the best for you. I usually don’t rebuttal things like this but when you try and deface someone I loves character that’s crossing a line.”
RELATED VIDEO: Justin Bieber Defends Scooter Braun After Taylor Swift Accuses Manager of ‘Bullying’ Her
Bieber’s wife Hailey Baldwin responded, “gentleman.,” in the comments section, though her show of support caught the eye of Swift’s pal Cara Delevingne, who joined the conversation in defense of Swift.
“Gentleman? @haileybieber @justinbieber you must be bored. I wish you spent less time sticking up for men and more time trying to understand women and respecting their valid reactions,” Delevingne, 26, responded on Instagram. “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,” she continued. “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. Take a step back and try and learn from this. We should all be on the same team. End of story.”
A post shared by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on Jun 30, 2019 at 2:54pm PDT
Scott Borchetta, CEO of Big Machine Records, defended 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.”
Yael Cohen, Braun’s wife, also defended her husband and responded to Swift’s claims in a lengthy Instagram post shared on Sunday.
“I have never been one for a public airing of laundry, but when you attack my husband… here we go,” Cohen, 32, started.
@taylorswift, I’m here to talk privately anytime.
A post shared by Yael Cohen Braun (@yael) on Jun 30, 2019 at 3:53pm PDT
“Girl, who are you to talk about bullying? The world has watched you collect and drops friend like wilted flowers. My husband is anything but a bully, he’s spent his life standing up for people and causes he believes in,” Cohen wrote. “Beyond that, it’s easy to see that the point of putting this out was to get to bully him. You are supposed to be a role model, but continue to model bullying.”
Cohen also said that her husband has always been a champion for Swift in the past.
“What you haven’t seen is what happens behind closed doors, when he has supported and stood up for you. When he has challenged his clients to be kind or be quiet,” she said in her post. “When he has reached an olive branch out to you on numerous occasions. ”
She continued, “Scott (Scooter) was excited to work and build with you. How embarrassing this temper tantrum is because you didn’t get your own way. He believes in and supports you, I sincerely hope you can learn to love and believe in yourself the way my husband does.”
Besides Delevingne, Swift garnered support from many of her friends including Halsey, Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie (whom Swift recently collaborated on “ME!” with), Victoria’s Secret model Martha Hunt and singer JoJo.
“Taylor Swift is a huge reason why I always insisted to write my own music. I believed if she did it (in a way that made my teeth ache like cold water and my heart swell and my eyes leak) then I should too,” Halsey, 24, wrote on Twitter. “She deserves to own the painstaking labor of her heart… And it turns my guts that no matter how much power or success a woman has in this life, you are still susceptible to someone coming along and making you feel powerless out of spite.”
During a Twitch livestream on Monday, Urie, 32, said of the situation, “Yeah, it’s disgusting, right? What a f—’ asshole.”
“Taylor doesn’t deserve for someone who has constantly BULLIED her to OWN THE RIGHTS to her blood, sweat, + tears,” wrote Hunt, 30. “This is about protecting artists. Taylor courageously exposed a grown man who has time + time again proven his obsession with holding her down, like his reputation precedes him. He doesn’t deserve a morsel of control over the archives of her past.”
And JoJo, 28, who endured her own label difficulties in the past, also shared a message of support. “WeStandWithTaylor,” she wrote before adding, “Duh.”
