Taylor Swift on Scooter Braun’s Purchase of Her Back Catalog: ‘This Is My Worst-Case Scenario’

On Sunday, June 30, news broke that Justin Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun, had acquired Taylor Swift's back catalog of music as part of his purchase of Scott Borchetta's Big Machine Label Group. (Swift used to be one of the artists on Big Machine's roster.) This wasn't good news to Swift, who responded to the announcement with a Tumblr post.

"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," she writes. "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."

She goes on to explain that she only learned of the sale as the news broke widely, adding, "All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years."

Swift continues: "Like when Kim Kardashian [allegedly] orchestrated an illegally recorded snippet of a phone call to be leaked and then Scooter [allegedly] got his two clients together to bully me online about it... 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," she says, later adding, "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."

Swift ended her Tumblr post on a positive note: "Thankfully, I am now signed to a label that believes I should own anything I create," she writes. "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."

You can read her full post on Tumblr.

Since Swift posted her response, Borchetta, artists, and fans have all weighed in on the situation. Here's everything we know.

Fan support for Swift grew quickly. Many took to Twitter in support of Swift after she posted on Tumblr, and #WeStandWithTaylor began to trend. "This is far from the first time a man has claimed ownership of a woman’s work and it sure won’t be the last, but the fact that someone of Taylor Swift’s stature STILL has to deal with this all-too-familiar male behavior is terrifying," one user writes

"I’m tweeting for the first time in a year to say that Taylor Swift deserves better," says another. "She’s a self made woman whose worked hard for everything she has, investing love, time and effort in a career she absolutely deserves. #WeStandWithTaylor"

Other artists and celebrities took to social media to respond. Halsey also joined the conversation, writing on Twitter, "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. Cause that's how to make someone feel. To drag it from the pits of your heart. To offer it on a platter and say 'take some but take it kindly.'"

She continues: "She deserves to own the painstaking labor of her heart. She has surpassed all expectations of what any artist is even capable of. She catapulted her stardom into the Milky Way. 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. It speaks volumes to how far we have to come in the music industry. The way writers are treated. How as an entertainer you are respected but as a writer you're walked all over. Even when you are both in one single body. I am standing with her."

Justin Bieber, whose career Scooter Braun has famously managed, responded to Swift's post via Instagram on Sunday evening, June 30—particularly the singer's claim (included in her original post above) that Braun had organized two of his clients to "bully" her online. Bieber apologized for posting the Instagram Swift had called out as bullying in her Tumblr post and said that he and Braun were on her team. "One thing i know is both scooter and i love you. I feel like the only way to resolve conflict is through communication. So banter back and fourth 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 any feelings that need to be addressed," he wrote in part.

Read his full message here:

Model Martha Hunt, a longtime Swift pal, tweeted, "Taylor doesn’t deserve for someone who has constantly BULLIED her to OWN THE RIGHTS to her blood, sweat, + tears. It’s not the dark ages - artists shouldn’t be held down, and I couldn’t be prouder of my friend for standing up for what’s right. End of story."

Per the Daily Mail, Cara Delevingne commented on Bieber's post (though the comment appears to have been deleted), writing, "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.

"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 to learn from this. We should all be on the same team. End of story."

Demi Lovato posted to her Instagram Stories defending Braun and calling on people to stop "bullying" and "dragging" him.

Todrick Hall, who just collaborated with Swift on the "You Need to Calm Down" video, took to Twitter to state that he no longer worked with Braun and supported Swift.

Big Machine and Scooter Braun's wife tell a different story. In a blog post titled "So, It's Time for Some Truth," Big Machine's Borchetta rebutted Swift's claims that she learned the news of the Braun deal when everyone else did. According to him, he texted her ahead of the news going public. "Out of courtesy, I personally texted Taylor at 9:06pm, Saturday, June 29th to inform her prior to the story breaking on the morning of Sunday, June 30th so she could hear it directly from me," he wrote. He added that he offered Swift a chance to buy her master recordings and wasn't aware of problems she had with Braun.

Borchetta also says Swift's father, Scott, would have learned about the pending sale during a shareholders' call on June 25, but a rep for Swift says her father did not participate in that call. “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 told People. "Her dad did not join that call because he did not want to be required to withhold any information from his own daughter. 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.”

Read Borchetta's entire post here.

Along with Bieber and Borchetta, Braun's wife, Yael Cohen Braun, spoke out in defense of her husband. "You were given the opportunity to own your masters, you passed," she wrote on Instagram. "Interesting that the man you're so 'grossed out' by believed in you more than you believe in yourself. Your dad is a shareholder and was notified, and Borchetta personally told you before this came out. So no, you didn't find out with the world.

"And girl, who are you to talk about bullying?" she continued. "The world has watched you collect and drop friends like wilted flowers. My husband is anything but a bully, he's spent his life standing up for people and causes he believes in. Beyond that, it's easy to see that the point of putting this out was to get people to bully him. You are supposed to be a role model, but continue to model bullying."

Cohen Braun added that she hopes this matter can be discussed further in private and that Braun has always supported Swift.

This post has been updated.

Originally Appeared on Glamour