When one pop star breaks ties with their longtime manager, it’s vaguely newsworthy. But two high-profile artists dumping Scooter Braun at the same time? That raises some serious questions.
Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato have both reportedly dropped manager Scooter Braun, who is known for managing A-list clients like Kanye West and Justin Bieber. Grande signed with him back in 2013, while Lovato signed in 2019. Neither artist has commented publicly on the separation. However, a source told Billboard that it was simply “time for Lovato to go in a new direction.”
This news arrives after rumors that Justin Bieber was also planning to leave Scooter Braun’s management company – although Bieber and Braun’s representatives say this isn’t true. But Braun did lose another major client back in May: Reggaeton star J Balvin, who switched management to Roc Nation.
Braun is already a controversial figure due to his legal conflicts with Taylor Swift. For years he held the rights to the master recordings of her first six albums, later selling them to a private equity firm. In turn, this led Swift to re-record her albums. He’s widely perceived as the villain of this conflict, although Swift came out on top due to the Eras Tour.
Now, Swifties are celebrating Lovato and Grande’s departure as another victory for Team Swift:
@emilycschwartz Demi Lovato & Ariana Grande Split with Scooter Braun. On the 6 year anniversary of THE snake posted to Taylor’s socials to kick off the REPUTATION era. HOW DOES TAYLOR SWIFT DO IT. 🐍 🐍 #taylorswift #demilovato #arianagrande #justinbieber #scooterbraun #midnights #reputationtaylorsversion #tserastour ♬ original sound – Emily Schwartz
@_alyssayung_ everyone dropping scooter like the trash he is yup! karma is taylors boyfriend! #taylorswift #scooterbraun #demilovato #arianagrande #karmaismyboyfriend #swiftie ♬ Karma – Taylor Swift
There’s also a lot of speculation about why Grande and Lovato parted ways with Scooter Braun at basically the same time, with music fans labeling this a “red flag.” Some are wondering if a scandal is about to come out. So far though, no one involved has offered a specific explanation for the split.
