Scooter Braun Breaks His Silence on Taylor Swift's Allegations Against Him and Big Machine Label Group

After a long period of silence, Scooter Braun has come forward to address Taylor Swift's earlier allegations that he, Scott Borchetta, and their company, Big Machine Label Group, may have been attempting to prevent Taylor from performing songs recorded and released before Lover.

Taylor released a public statement via Twitter on November 14 sharing the current situation of her ongoing semi-public battle with Scooter, Scott, and Big Machine. She said she was being prevented from performing any of her old music at the upcoming American Music Awards and the release of a long-in-the-works Netflix documentary was affected by music restrictions too.

Scooter first addressed the conflict and Taylor's allegations at the 2019 Entertainment Industry Conference. While talking with Variety's Shirley Halperin, Scooter seemingly encouraged her to ask him how he feels about being cast as the alleged bad guy in this situation. Scooter replied, in part, that "when there’s a lot of things being said and a lot of different opinions, yet the principals haven’t had a chance to speak to each other, there’s a lot of confusion. I’m not going to go into details here, because it’s just not my style. I just think we live in a time of toxic division, and of people thinking that social media is the appropriate place to air out on each other and not have conversations."

Following Scooter's appearance at the conference, he took to Instagram to release an even lengthier statement addressed to Taylor and tagging her. Scooter echoes comments from the conference about his desire to take things off social media and have a sit-down with Taylor. He also says this conflict has led to death threats against himself and his family, going so far as to include a screenshot of one of those threats at the end of his post.

He begins, "Since your public statement last week there have been numerous death threats directed at my family. This morning I spoke out publicly for the first time saying I wouldn’t participate in a social media war. However I came home tonight to find my wife had received a phone call threatening the safety of our children as well as other threats seen above. I won’t go in to the details of this past week. I have been at a loss. Thinking of my wife and children, my team and their families, I have gone through a range of emotions on how to deal with this. I write this now only after a deep breathe and much reflection. I am certain there is no situation ever worth jeopardizing anyone’s safety."

The statement for Taylor continues, "I assume this was not your intention but it is important that you understand that your words carry a tremendous amount of weight and that your message can be interpreted by some in different ways. While disappointed that you have remained silent after being notified by your attorney 4 days ago of these ongoing threats, I’m still hopeful we can fix this. We are living in a time of pointless violence and as a husband and father I am concerned."

Scooter ends his statement with a plea for finding a resolution to this conflict, asking Taylor directly, "This is a world filled with toxic division where people express their opinions over social media instead of having conversations in person. I want no part in that. To be frank I was shocked and disheartened to hear that my presence in the Big Machine deal caused you so much pain as the handful of times we have actually met I have always remembered them to be pleasant and respectful. Knowing what I know now all I have wanted to do is rectify the situation. I’m open to ALL possibilities. My attempts and calls to have an open discussion with you over the last 6 months have all been rejected. While some on your team and many of our mutual friends have tried to get you to the table, all have had no luck. It almost feels as if you have no interest in ever resolving the conflict. At this point with safety becoming a concern I have no choice other than to publicly ask for us to come together and try to find a resolution. I have tried repeatedly through your representatives to achieve a solution but unfortunately here we are. This game of telephone isn’t working."

Teen Vogue has reached out to Taylor's reps for comment. As of Friday morning, Taylor has not publicly responded to Scooter's post.

Let us slide into your DMs. Sign up for the Teen Vogue daily email.

Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: Justin Bieber Seemingly Responds to Taylor Swift's Claims About Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue