Scooter Braun surprisingly defends Taylor Swift as Trump says he 'hates' singer after she endorsed Harris

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It looks like Scooter Braun is now getting involved in one of the most talked-about celebrity feuds—Taylor Swift vs Donald Trump.

The 43-year-old talent manager is making headlines again, but this time, it’s not because of his music deals or famous clients. It’s because he’s thrown some serious shade at former president Trump on social media—and surprisingly, it’s to defend none other than Taylor Swift.

Scooter Braun’s unexpected move

Scooter Braun, who’s no stranger to controversy, shared a spicy response to Donald Trump in his Instagram Stories on Sunday, September 15. Trump had just taken a swing at Taylor Swift on his platform Truth Social saying, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”

This came after Taylor, 34, endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris following her debate with Trump.

Now, Braun and Swift haven’t exactly been on the best terms (more on that later), so it came as a bit of a shock when Braun appeared to take her side. “Shake it off Donald,” Braun wrote in his post, clearly referencing Swift’s hit song.

Along with that, he also made his political stance crystal clear by adding “Kamala 2024” beneath the screenshot of Trump’s post along with an American flag emoji. So yeah, Scooter is Team Kamala—and in a roundabout way Team Taylor, at least for this moment.

Here’s the thing: Braun isn’t someone who’s been vocal about politics in the past, at least not publicly. He’s not known for throwing himself into the political arena like some other celebs. But this election seems to be a turning point for him.

Earlier, on August 3, Braun took to Instagram to post several photos of himself with Kamala Harris while giving her his full endorsement. He gushed about how “proud” he was to call her his “friend,” and said that she was the right choice to “represent all of us.”

What’s more? Braun mentioned that in the past he’s voted for both Republicans and Democrats, but this time he’s all in for Harris.

According to Braun, Kamala Harris stands up “against antisemitism and hatred of all forms.” It’s pretty clear where his loyalties lie in this election, but what makes this particular moment so interesting is the fact that Braun’s defense of Swift was unexpected — especially considering their rocky past, the Daily Mail reported.

Scooter Braun and Taylor Swift's complicated history

Let’s rewind to 2019. This is when the infamous feud between Scooter Braun and Taylor Swift really kicked off. Braun, with the financial backing of some private equity firms, made a massive purchase—he bought Big Machine Records, Taylor Swift’s old label.

The deal wasn’t just any business move; it gave him ownership of the master recordings for all of Swift’s albums up to Reputation, which was released in 2017. Taylor had already switched to Republic Records by that time, but her old catalog was still tied to Big Machine—and now to Braun.

Swift wasn’t happy, to say the least. She had tried to buy her masters back, but according to her Big Machine Records blocked her and offered her a deal that would require her to record new albums with the label each time she wanted to regain ownership of one of her old albums.

For Taylor this was a hard no, and so began her mission to rerecord all of her early albums and release them as “Taylor’s Version.”

Her goal was to encourage fans to stream and buy these new versions, effectively cutting off Braun from the profits of the original recordings.

Fast forward to now, and Swift’s rerecorded albums have been a major success. They’ve charted just as well as her brand-new releases and critics have even praised them for featuring her more mature voice. Taylor’s fans—being the loyal legion of Swifties they are—have jumped on board and made sure to support the new versions over the originals.

The Donald Trump factor

Now, let’s throw Donald Trump into the mix. On September 10, just a few days before Braun’s post, Taylor Swift had taken to Instagram to announce her support for Kamala Harris in the upcoming election. In a lengthy post, she explained her reasons for backing Harris and encouraged her millions of followers to do the same.

She even dropped a link to vote.gov, urging people to register to vote and do their research.

Trump being Trump wasn’t too thrilled with Swift’s endorsement. After his debate performance was widely panned, Swift’s support for Harris probably didn’t help his mood. And on September 15, he snapped, posting, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”

It’s the most furious he’s gotten over Swift’s politics, although when asked about her endorsement earlier that week he had claimed he had “no idea” what she was talking about.

Here’s the big question on everyone’s mind: Will Taylor Swift’s endorsement actually sway the election? Some political analysts think it might, given her massive following and influence.

But according to a recent ABC News/Ipsos poll, her endorsement might not have as big of an impact as some had hoped. Only 6% of Americans said that Swift’s support of Harris made them more likely to vote for her, while 13% said it actually made them less likely. The majority, a whopping 81%, said it made no difference at all.