‘I don’t know Taylor Swift’: Scooter Braun says he met singer only 3 times before masters feud

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Scooter Braun is opening up once again about the controversy surrounding Taylor Swift’s masters, but this time, he is focusing on one surprising detail: he says he barely knew her at all.

While reflecting on the backlash he faced after buying Big Machine Label Group in 2019, Braun claimed many people wrongly believed he had a long personal history with Swift. According to him, that was never the case.

The music executive said he had met Swift only three times in his life and had never had a meaningful relationship with her before the 'masters' dispute.

Braun also claimed many people falsely believed he had managed Swift for years and shared a long-running feud with her behind the scenes, something he now says was never true.

Scooter Braun says he only met Taylor Swift three times before the masters feud

Covering various topics during his interview on Variety, Braun talked about the public fallout. He admitted he was shocked by how quickly he came to be viewed as the villain in the situation.

"(I) went from being like, loved and appreciated for over a decade to literally a villain the next night," he said. Braun then addressed what he called the biggest misconception surrounding the feud. “I don’t know Taylor Swift. I think I’ve met her in my life three times. I have never had a substantial conversation with her in my life,” he explained.

Recalling one of their few interactions, Braun said Swift once invited him to a private party where they exchanged words.

“She told me she had the utmost respect for me. I told her I had the most respect for her,” he said, adding that he was genuinely excited about the possibility of working with her after acquiring Big Machine Label Group.

“You don’t spend $300 million buying a label that she’s on unless you’re excited at the opportunity to work with her,” he stated. The producer also said he still does not fully understand why the situation turned so bad.

“I will never truly understand that situation. To this day, I wish her nothing but the best,” he added. Braun further claimed that many people incorrectly assumed he and Swift had a long-running personal feud.

“I think there’s this big misconception that, like, we knew each other, and we had this feud, and I managed her for years,” he said. “People are usually shocked to find out that I legitimately don’t know her.”

Taylor Swift criticized Scooter Braun after his company bought her masters in 2019

The controversy began in 2019 after Braun’s company acquired Swift’s former label, which gave him ownership of the masters for her first six albums (from her self-titled debut up to 'Reputation'). Swift publicly criticized the deal at the time and accused Braun of 'bullying.'

Years later, Swift responded by re-recording her old albums under the 'Taylor’s Version' project, which became a huge success. Looking back on the controversy, Braun said it changed the way many artists think about owning their music.

“I think what it did bring to light is that artists are going to start wanting to own their masters,” he said. “And I think that’s great.”