State Champ Radio Scooter Braun
Blake Lively is fighting Justin Baldoni’s continued attempts to see her texts with Taylor Swift in the It Ends With Us litigation, saying the movie’s director and co-star shouldn’t be allowed to drag Swift into the court battle just to generate “sensational headlines.”
Lively filed a motion on Friday (June 13) asking a federal judge to shut down Baldoni’s discovery request seeking all communications between the actress and Swift, her longtime close friend, related to It Ends With Us or Lively’s lawsuit alleging Baldoni sexually harassed her on the film’s set and then orchestrated a smear campaign in retaliation for her complaints.
Baldoni and his production company, Wayfarer Studios, previously sought these communications via subpoenas to Swift and her lawyers. But the pop superstar’s reps vehemently opposed the subpoenas as “tabloid clickbait,” and Baldoni withdrew the requests last month.
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According to the Friday filing, Lively’s team is unsure whether Swift handed over any texts as part of a deal with Baldoni to get the subpoenas dropped. Though Swift’s attorney advised them that “no documents are being produced,” the same day, a Daily Mail article quoted an “insider” stating that the Wayfarer team got “exactly what they were seeking” from the pop star.
Lawyers for Lively say this “insider” quote, published by a Daily Mail reporter with known ties to Baldoni’s publicists, could be interpreted either to mean that Swift produced documents or that the hefty tabloid coverage of Swift’s subpoena was enough to achieve Baldoni’s aims.
“Either interpretation of the reason the Wayfarer parties withdrew the subpoenas warrants the entry of a protective order,” write Lively’s attorneys. “If the Wayfarer parties received documents from Ms. Swift such that they have ‘exactly what they’ need, then the discovery sought … is cumulative and duplicative, and need not be produced again by Ms. Lively.”
“If, on the other hand,” Lively’s lawyers continue, “the Wayfarer parties were ‘seeking’ only sensational headlines by serving the subpoenas rather than materials to support their claims and defenses, they are not entitled to the information… The purpose of civil discovery is to obtain information relevant to claims and defenses in court, not to prop up a public relations narrative outside of court.”
Some of the ”sensational headlines” generated by the Swift subpoena revolved around allegations from Baldoni’s lawyers that Lively had asked Swift to delete text messages and tried to extort her into voicing public support for the sexual harassment lawsuit. These claims, attributed to an anonymous source and denounced by Lively’s team as “categorically false,” were struck from the case’s docket after Judge Lewis J. Liman determined they were improper, irrelevant and “potentially libelous.”
Judge Liman dealt another loss to Baldoni earlier this week when he threw out the actor-director’s defamation countersuit, which alleged that Lively conspired with the New York Times, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane to fabricate the sexual harassment and retaliation claims.
A rep for Lively cited this dismissal ruling in a statement to Billboard regarding Baldoni’s continued pursuit of the actress’ communications with Swift.
“The ongoing attempts to once again try and use the world’s biggest star as a PR tactic in this matter reflects a public unraveling of epic proportions — and serves only to distract from the fact that Justin Baldoni’s lawsuits against Ms. Lively, Ryan Reynolds, their publicist and the New York Times have been entirely dismissed,” said a Lively spokesperson on Friday (June 13).
Reps for Baldoni and Swift did not return requests for comment.
The continued fight over the Swift text messages comes as Lively is serving her own subpoena on the singer’s public opponent, Scooter Braun. Lively wants to know what Braun knows about the alleged smear campaign orchestrated by publicity firm The Agency Group PR, a controlling stake of which is reportedly owned by Braun’s company, HYBE America.
Scooter Braun has been subpoenaed in Blake Lively’s sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit over the movie It End With Us, with the actress seeking to find out what the music mogul knows about co-star Justin Baldoni’s alleged smear campaign against her.
Deadline first reported that Braun’s company, HYBE America, was notified of subpoenas on Tuesday (June 10), and that Lively plans to serve the document requests on Thursday (June 12). Billboard learned via a source familiar with the matter that the Lively camp subpoenaed both HYBE America and its CEO, Braun, personally.
Lively claims in her lawsuit that Baldoni enlisted crisis PR maven Melissa Nathan to seed negative press coverage of the actress in retaliation for her reporting sexual harassment on the set of It Ends With Us. Lively is now seeking any materials about this alleged smear campaign that are in the possession of Braun and HYBE America, which reportedly owns a controlling stake in Nathan’s company, The Agency Group PR.
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Billboard reached out to reps for Lively, HYBE America, Braun and Baldoni for comment. Billboard also reached out to Nathan for comment.
Lively’s subpoena on Braun follows Baldoni’s attempt to serve his own document subpoena on Taylor Swift, a close friend of Lively and public opponent of Braun. Swift and Braun’s feud stems from Braun’s 2019 purchase of the pop superstar’s Big Machine masters, which she bought back last month.
Swift’s reps fiercely criticized her subpoena, saying she was not involved in It Ends With Us and that Baldoni was merely trying to “use Taylor Swift’s name to draw public interest by creating tabloid clickbait instead of focusing on the facts of the case.” Baldoni ultimately dropped the Swift subpoena.
The messy It Ends With Us litigation began in December, when Lively sued Baldoni, claiming sexual harassment and retaliation. Baldoni quickly countersued, claiming the actress, her husband Ryan Reynolds and publicist Leslie Sloane had fabricated the claims and that Lively unfairly seized control over the movie he directed.
A federal judge dismissed Baldoni’s countersuit as legally deficient on Monday (June 9), allowing him to amend breach of contract claims but permanently tossing out his defamation allegations. The dispute is on track to go to trial in 2026.
In her letter on Friday (May 30) announcing she achieved a long-time goal of owning the master recordings to all of her songs, Taylor Swift described herself as “endlessly thankful” to the private equity firm Shamrock Capital that sold Swift their holdings of her early music. In fact, Swift is “so grateful to everyone at Shamrock” that she jokingly said her “first tattoo might just be a huge shamrock in the middle of my forehead.”
Swift has not always spoken so warmly about the California-based investment firm — until they struck the deal she says she’d been seeking for years.
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When news broke in November 2020 that Shamrock Holdings purchased Swift’s Big Machine Label Group catalog from Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings — marking the second time in 17 months that Swift’s first six albums had changed hands — the superstar said “it was the second time my music had been sold without my knowledge.”
In a letter Swift wrote to Shamrock Holdings at the time, which she shared on Twitter, she said she was initially hopeful for her “musical legacy and our possible future together.” But she said she could not partner with them because of certain undisclosed terms that Swift said would enrich Braun, related to her “music masters, music videos and album artwork.”
“I simply cannot in good conscience bring myself to be involved in benefiting Scooter Braun’s interests directly or indirectly,” Swift wrote in the letter.
Braun, who has disputed many of Swift’s assertions in the past, said simply on Friday (May 30), “I am happy for Taylor.”
In Shamrock’s statement after announcing its acquisition back in 2020, the company expressed admiration and respect for Swift’s work and professionalism, describing her as a “transcendent artist” with a “timeless catalog.”
“We made this investment because we believe in the immense value and opportunity that comes with her work,” Shamrock said in a statement at the time. “While we hoped to formally partner, we also knew this was a possible outcome … We hope to partner with her in new ways moving forward.”
At least publicly, that was that for about five years. But behind the scenes, Swift kept Shamrock abreast of her plans to re-record albums, according to statements from Swift. And privately, Shamrock explored selling Swift’s catalog, according to sources.
What prompted the sale now is not known. While Swift’s Taylor’s Versions of four of the albums Shamrock held the original recordings to had pulled some fans away from the originals, Swift’s overwhelming dominance as a global superstar resulted in the catalog held by Shamrock still generating nearly $60 million in average annual global revenue between 2022 and 2024, according to Billboard’s estimates based on Luminate data.
“The way they’ve handled every interaction we’ve had has been honest, fair, and respectful,” Swift wrote in her letter on Friday (May 30). “This was a business deal to them, but I really felt like they saw it for what it was to me: My memories and my sweat and my handwriting and my decades of dreams.”
Shamrock did not respond to requests for comment.
Scooter Braun and Jermaine Dupri are together again.
On Monday (April 7), HYBE America, where Braun serves as CEO, announced it had struck a distribution partnership with Dupri’s legendary So So Def Recordings, serving as a full-circle moment for both music executives.
“Everything I learned about the music business started with Jermaine,” said Braun in a statement. “He gave me my first shot when I was just a kid with a dream. I was blessed to witness genius up close — and now, years later, it’s an honor to return to where it all began and stand beside him as a partner.”
Braun’s legendary career started when he was a 19-year-old club promoter working under Dupri’s tutelage. In the years since, he has risen to become one of the biggest names in the music business, previously managing A-list artists like Justin Bieber, Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Ariana Grande.
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The deal will give So So Def full access to HYBE America’s marketing infrastructure, allowing the label to expand its artists’ global reach.
As one of the biggest powerhouse labels of the ’90s and early 2000s, So So Def’s roster has included superstars like Usher, Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey. It also recently launched rising star Muni Long.
“Jermaine Dupri isn’t just a legend — he’s one of the greatest producers and executives of all time,” Braun continued. “He changed the sound of a generation. This deal is about giving him the modern tools and reach his legacy deserves, and making sure the next generation hears what the last one already knows: Jermaine Dupri is a giant.”
Dupri echoed this sentiment in his own statement. “This isn’t just a business move — this is family,” he said. “Watching Scooter build what he has built has made me incredibly proud. He learned the game inside So So Def, and now he’s in a position to open doors the way I once opened them for him. That’s what legacy is about.”
So So Def and HYBE America will begin rolling out new music in the coming months.
HYBE America has partnered with Alan Chikin Chow, creator of the scripted YouTube series Alan’s Universe, to form a new pop group that will be introduced to audiences through a streaming series, it was announced on Thursday (April 3).
The partnership, dubbed HYBE AMERICA X AU, will kick off with a global talent search to form the group, which will be composed of three women and three men. Those chosen will undergo HYBE’s rigorous K-pop development system in Los Angeles. The resulting series, which will be executive produced by Chow alongside HYBE America president James Shin and CEO Scooter Braun, “will follow a group of aspiring pop idol rejects enrolled at an arts academy who decide to form their own band, fusing the worlds of drama, acting, and musical performance with concurrent releases of original music and choreography,” according to a press release.
The multi-faceted project will live on Chow’s YouTube channel (which boasts more than 88 million subscribers) and “across multiple platforms that include music, merchandise, live touring, and more,” with the goal to “reimagine the fictional musical act turned real-life global popstar pathway for today’s generation,” as stated in the release.
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“The passionate global fanbase of Alan’s Universe partnered with the premier music prowess of HYBE AMERICA creates an unstoppable force,” said Chow in a statement. “Together, we stand to create a next-generation franchise with one purpose: to serve our fans with inspiring, impactful stories.”
“This partnership represents entertainment’s future—where content and music enhance each other rather than simply coexist,” added Shin. “We’re building a franchise with Alan that establishes a new model for artist development in the digital age.”
Braun added, “Alan’s extraordinary connection with global audiences makes him and this partnership unique. Together we are not only reimagining the star-making process but will help to create once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for exceptional storytelling and development.”
To apply, male and female candidates between the ages of 18 and 28 anywhere in the world can upload a singing or dancing clip to YouTube Shorts along with the hashtag #HYBEAMERICAxAU. More details can be found here.
As of Saturday (Jan. 4), Justin Bieber has unfollowed Scooter Braun on Instagram.
The two have been linked since 2008, when Braun started managing the then-13-year-old Bieber after discovering him on YouTube. But over the past few years, their relationship became rocky and in 2023, the superstar was “actively looking at how he might extract himself from [it],” Billboard reported at the time.
As of August 2023, Billboard reported that Bieber was still under contract for about four more years, following a series of amendments to his deal with Braun made in 2020. In the same report, sources familiar with Bieber’s business dealings said he was focused on resolving his predicament with Braun at the time.
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By June 2024, Braun announced his retirement from management (he maintains his role as CEO of HYBE America — the North American iteration of South Korean entertainment company HYBE). His news followed a string of headlines about artists leaving his SB Projects, including Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and J Balvin.
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“23 years. That’s how long I have been a music manager,” Braun wrote in a statement posted to Instagram at the time. And while he shared several highlights from his management career, he dedicated a paragraph entirely to Grande and Bieber, writing: “Justin and Ariana were both young teenagers when I began with them. Justin a 13 year old kid busking in Canada and Ariana a young actress on Nickelodeon. To see them both come up to be the legends they are today will forever be one of my greatest honors. As we change our working relationships now, I will continue to root for them with the same passion that I did at each of their humble beginnings.”
In August 2024, Bieber and his wife Hailey Bieber welcomed their first child, Jack Blues Bieber. And in September, indie-rocker Mk.gee revealed to The New York Times that he’s been in studio sessions with Bieber, saying “he’s searching.”
Bieber’s last album, Justice, was released in 2021. It became his eighth No. 1 entry on the Billboard 200.
10/25/2024
The mogul purchased the pop star’s six-album catalog for upwards of $300 million in 2019.
10/25/2024
Scooter Braun announced his retirement from artist management on Monday (June 17), officially putting a cap on a 23-year run during which he guided the careers of some of the biggest pop stars of the 21st century, including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, J Balvin, Carly Rae Jepsen, The Kid Laroi and others.
“I have been blessed to have had a ‘Forrest Gump’-like life while witnessing and taking part in the journeys of some of the most extraordinarily talented people the world has ever seen,” Braun said in a statement issued on social media. “I’m constantly pinching myself and asking ‘how did I get here?’ And after 23 years this chapter as a must manager has come to an end.”
Braun sold Ithaca Holdings, the parent company of his management company SB Projects, to South Korean entertainment conglomerate HYBE in 2021.
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Braun will continue his work as HYBE America’s CEO.
A good portion of Braun’s 1,300-plus word send-off is spent recalling some of his fondest memories as a manager, including seeing Andrew Wyatt win a producer of the year Grammy, watching Quavo succeed as an entrepreneur, seeing Dan + Shay “go from local Nashville writers to sold out headliners,” and enjoying “brother Usher dominate the Super Bowl this year.” He also said he was “Kanye’s ‘gateway drug to business’ as we had amazing years of success when I was once able to call him my friend.”
He made sure to single out his two crowning clients — Bieber and Grande — “a 13 year old kid busking in Canada” and “a young actress on Nickelodeon” when he signed them.
“To see them both come up to be the legends they are today will forever be one of my greatest honors,” he said. “As we change our working relationships now, I will continue to root for them with the same passion that I did at each of their humble beginnings… There will never be a day where I don’t take great pride and honor in what we accomplished together.”
Read Braun’s full announcement:
23 years. That’s how long I have been a music manager. 23 years ago a 19 year old kid started managing an artist named Cato in Atlanta, GA and my journey began. Along the way I have had so many experiences I could never have dreamt of. I have been blessed to have had a ‘Forrest Gump”-like life while witnessing and taking part in the journeys of some of the most extraordinarily talented people the world has ever seen. I’m constantly pinching myself and asking “how did I get here?” And after 23 years this chapter as a must manager has come to an end.”
It’s a strange feeling because I think I have wanted this for a while, but I was truly afraid to answer the question “who would I be without them?” I was really just 19 years old when I started. So for my entire adult life I played the role of an artist manager on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And for 20 years I loved it. It’s all I had known. But as my children got older, and my personal Iife took some hits, I came to the realization that my kids were 3 superstars I wasn’t willing to lose. The sacrifices I was once willing to make I could no longer justify. It was time to step into a new role.
In this next chapter I have been honored to join as a board member of Hybe and serve as the CEO of Hybe America. My brilliant partner these past 3 years, Chairman Bang, has a vision I truly believe in. But even beyond that he has become a true friend who understands where I must be in my life these days. And that is a father first, a CEO second, and a manager no more.
Over the past 2 years I have been heading towards this destination, but it wasn’t until last summer that this new chapter became a reality. One of my biggest clients and friends told me that they wanted to spread their wings and go in a new direction. We had been through so much together over the last decade, but instead of being hurt I saw it as a sign. You see, life doesn’t hand you YOUR plan, it hands you GOD’s plan. And God has been pushing me in this direction for some time. I have nothing but love for those I have worked with over the years, and as we develop a different working relationship, I will always be in their corner to consult and support them whether it be directly or from afar. Every client I have had the privilege of working with has changed my life, and I know many of them are just beginning to see the success they deserve. I will cheer for every single one of them.
I have gotten to see my friend Andrew Watt win the Grammy for Producer of the year. I have laughed and cried as Lil Dicky truly became DAVE. I have witnessed an angel of a human Tori Kelly win Grammys and star in films. I have seen J Balvin live out his dreams of breaking boundaries, and Demi show kindness and grace that few megastars have. I have been moved as Zac Brown Band raised our flag and delivered the hits. I was excited the first time I heard Animals with Martin Garrix, and learned a new world with David Guetta and Steve Angello. I have danced to Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe and smiled ear to ear as PSY brought us Gangnam Style. I have watched Quavo grow to be an entrepreneur, and served as Kanye’s “gateway drug to business” as we had amazing years of success when I was once able to call him my friend. I have marched with YG and flown to Australia with Laroi to see the hometown kid rock an arena. I have seen Dan Shay go from local Nashville writers to sold out headliners and award winners. The list of artists goes on and on over 23 years. So many stories it would take me forever to name. From those first years with Asher Roth to watching my partner and brother Usher dominate the Super Bowl this year, it is truly overwhelming.But it was this past Christmas Day when Ariana and Justin became the biggest male and female in the history of the Spotify Billions club that I just smiled and thought “what a ride.” Justin and Ariana were both young teenagers when I began with them. Justin a 13 year old kid busking in Canada and Ariana a young actress on Nickelodeon. To see them both come up to be the legends they are today will forever be one of my greatest honors. As we change our working relationships now, I will continue to root for them with the same passion that I did at each of their humble beginnings. I remember the pranks and the water park shows with Justin, and the first time Ari opened an arena tour and her excitement side stage. I remember as they both stepped up for others and I got to witness them each change the world and make history. There will never be a day where I don’t take great pride and honor in what we accomplished together. The same can be said for so many I have had the pleasure of once being called “manager”.
There has been a lot said about what is happening in our company… and in my career. When we had success I smiled, and when we were attacked I tried to always take the high road. But for the last 3 years I have begun to feel that taking the high road has created confusion and ambiguity as to who we are. I may have left my role in management, and my business relationship with many clients will alter and change, but this does not mean we as a company are leaving. Both Allison Kaye and Jennifer McDaniels are more than capable to lead and as we combine new resources the opportunities with their leadership are endless. These two incredibly powerful women will now step into a role that I know will grow into the most impressive women-led management business our industry has even seen. While my name may have been on the door all these years, the truth is there is no one as brilliant as Allison Kaye, and few who can manage with the grace and poise of Jen McDaniels.
We at Hybe will continue to grow. With the addition of QC to Hybe America and our existing business at Big Machine, we will continue to add amazing execs and artists to the roster. Our WeVerse platform and growing gaming unit is something the whole industry can celebrate and join. Getting the opportunity to A&R and Executive Produce the solo career of Jung Kook last summer, and work with the other members of BTS as we break worldwide records, has been an absolute honor. With new acts like NewJeans, TXT, LE SSERAFIM, Seventeen, ILLIT, The Scarlet Opera, Ava Max, and many other new artists and ventures, the future is bright. I’m honored to join Chairman Bang and Jiwon Park as we grow HYBE from the multi-billion dollar publicly traded company it is today to the worldwide multifaceted entertainment platform it is destined to be.
With Hybe going strong I am also looking forward to continuing to invest in a new generation of entrepreneurs and serve as a national board member of Make A Wish and help individuals and communities through our family’s Braun Foundation. Between all of this and coaching my kids I’m not worried about being busy 🙂
So yes, it’s been 23 years. And yes, this chapter has come to an end. But the great Berry Gordy once told me “young man, it never ends the way you wanted, but it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” That wisdom has proven to be correct. I never saw how this chapter would end, hell, I never even saw it happening. But it did. And I will cherish every moment of it. I made my plan… but it turns out I like God’s plan better. Cheers!
Scooter Braun is stepping up his efforts to help the people affected by the Oct. 7th terrorist attacks in Israel and Palestinians suffering from the devastating war in Gaza, with the music mogul keen to stress “you can do two things,” by helping both groups.
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The HYBE-America CEO posted a lengthy video on Instagram on Wednesday night that outlined his plans to work with humanitarian agency CARE International and the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel, personally donating a total of $200,000 to get much-needed financial support to the people most acutely impacted by the ongoing conflict.
Braun said he, along with his Palestinian-American friend Nasim and Scott Budnik, will be kicking off the Care Together campaign with Care.org next week and that he would be personally donating $100,000. The campaign, Braun says, “will help 200 Palestinian families with sustainable help in this time of need.”
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He also stated that at the same time he will donate $100,000 to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel, a group that according to its website says it “offers families holistic medical and emotional support as well as professional assistance, and advances the ongoing efforts locally, regionally and globally, to bring the hostages and the missing back home.”
Braun added, “I’ve always said something, you can do two things. You can say, free the hostages, and also want the Palestinian people who are innocent to be protected from Hamas and this war.”
In the video, Braun began by speaking about his late grandmother Eva, a Holocaust survivor, on the occasion of what would have been her 94th birthday, and how her kindness inspires him to “do what I do next.”
“The world is a crazy place, and I feel like there’s a very big misunderstanding. There’s all this antisemitism, hate, finger-pointing in all directions. But it’s not because I would refute my Judaism, or it’s not because I’m not proud of my Judaism that I do what I do next,” Braun says, seeming to reference the online criticism he has received recently from some sections of the BTS fandom and also perhaps a passing reference to Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar’s speech with the use of the word “refute.”
He adds that he is doing what he is doing “because of my grandmother, because of my grandfather, because of what they endured, because of the lessons that they taught me, and the lessons that my Judaism teaches me that I care.”
Full text of Braun’s video message:
I normally don’t make videos for these type of things, but I felt like this was important. Today would have been the 94th birthday of my grandmother, Ma, Eva. She was a Holocaust survivor, a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. In her honor, I do what I do next. The world is a crazy place, and I feel like there’s a very big misunderstanding. There’s all this anti-Semitism hate, finger-pointing in all directions. But it’s not because I would refute my Judaism, or it’s not because I’m not proud of my Judaism that I do what I do next. It’s because of my grandmother, because of my grandfather, because of what they endured, because of the lessons that they taught me, and the lessons that my Judaism teaches me that I care.
Because of that, with the help of my friend Nasim, a Palestinian-American who’s also the son of a refugee just like me, and my friend Scott Budnik, we’re starting a campaign next week called Care Together, along with the organization Care.org, which will get aid to Palestinians, innocent Palestinians in need right now. I will personally be donating $100,000 to kick off that campaign, and that will help 200 Palestinian families with sustainable help in this time of need.
But I’ve always said something, you can do two things. You can say, free the hostages, and also want the Palestinian people who are innocent to be protected from Hamas and this war. That is why I’ll also be matching that $100,000 with another $100,000 donation to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum in Israel to help those families affected by Oct. 7th, and those families still suffering because those hostages deserve and must come home.
I wanted to do this because you can do two things. You can call for the hostages, and you can call for innocent people in a war to be protected. I want to be clear that it is because of my culture, because of my Judaism, because of the idea of ‘tikun olam,’ which means repair the world, heal the world, which is all Jews are called on to do, that I make these donations, and I ask people to do the same, and I ask people to step up with action. In honor of my grandmother, in honor of her 94th birthday. She saw the absolute worst of humanity. She wasn’t yelling at people on TikTok or Instagram. She lived it. She was 15 years old when they ripped her from her home, and 26 members of her family, including her parents and her sister, were killed. She stayed in that concentration camp for a year until she was liberated, [she was there] every single day.
Even though [my grandmother] saw the worst of humanity, she chose to be kind to all people. That is why, in this moment, while I believe Israel has the right to defend itself and Israelis have the right to protection and safety, I think the same for Palestinians. It is because I am a Jew that I make these donations. I’m grateful to my Palestinian-American friend… Both of us grew up in Connecticut. Both of us love Thundercats. Both of us love our families. If my family would have immigrated to Israel and his family would have stayed in the West Bank, we might be put in a position to fight right now with each other. But because we’re here, we have an opportunity to be friends and try and go towards a future that we all claim we want over there. I know this was long-winded, but Ma, this one was for you. I love you. I miss you. I hope everyone can join in and do the same. Thanks.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Scooter Braun called for popular artists “with much bigger platforms” to demand the release of the hostages that were taken by Hamas from an Israeli electronic music festival.
“Say something, ask for the hostages to come home,” Braun said in an Instagram video posted on Friday (Dec. 22). “Say that no music festival deserves this.” Hamas attacked the Supernova Sukkot Gathering on Oct. 7, killing more than 360 people and taking a number of hostages.
Braun is joined in the Instagram video by Rachel, the mother of a hostage named Hersh. (She is not identified by last name in the video, but her story matches that of Rachel Goldberg.) “The silence from the music industry has been so deafeningly palpable for us,” Rachel says. Later she adds, “I just hope that you will be brave enough to use your platform.”
Braun picks up on this theme. “I’m begging of my own industry to just post something,” he says. “These kids deserved our voices, and we as an industry have done it time and time again — we’ve given our voices.”
In 2017, Braun helped organize a major benefit concert for the victims of the terrorist attack that took place at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. Grande performed at the benefit along with Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Coldplay, and others, raising more than $12 million. “There’s been so much negativity and such a lack of leadership when we’re looking to have hope,” Braun said at the time.
Read a transcript of Braun’s comments below.
Scooter Braun: I am here with Rachel, Hersh’s mom… Her son is now 76 days being held in Gaza. The last images she saw of him, he had his left arm blown off. He’s a lefty like she is. We just had an amazing conversation I’m going to share. I want to be clear this is not what I do. I find it insane that I’m the one standing here with her or that we’re the ones who had a conversation. There should be people with 100 million followers and much bigger platforms who do this for a living, who are artists, who are reporters, who should be giving her a platform. And privately, she told me she has reached out to so many people, but because of the nuance of the conflict, they don’t want to talk about this. I think every single one of us in our industry knows that if this was any other situation, any other country, we’d be losing our minds speaking of how a music festival is not an appropriate place for people to be shot in cold blood. For them to be blown up or shot as they’re running away or taken prisoner and hostage like her son for over 70 days.
Rachel: I did want to say that 364 young people were killed at the Nova Music Festival. And over 40 of them were taken hostage and are still being held. A lot of those kids were coming from all over the world. And I think that that’s getting lost in a larger picture of pain and confusion, because it is a really complicated neighborhood that we live in. But I think that the silence from the music industry has been so deafeningly palpable for us and for all of the people who have children who were either massacred or are missing. And I just hope that you will be brave enough to use your platform because you have to be able to look at yourself and know that you’re doing the right thing for those kids who died at that festival or those kids who are suffering terribly in captivity right now. And I hope that you have the courage to do that. And maybe what might surprise you is you’ll get more fans and you’ll get more credit in the wold that you’re part of.
Braun: This is not what either of us do. I’m a behind the camera guy and she’s a mom and a teacher. I’m begging of my own industry to just post something, say something, ask for the hostages to come home. Say that no music festival deserves this. These survivors I met last night, they started naming many of you artists and asking me, ‘Why have you said nothing? These are our heroes. What if this happened somewhere else?’ So I’m going to end this here. These kids deserved our voices, and we as an industry have done it time and time again — we’ve given our voices. This was one of our things. This was a music festival. Not asking for you talk about the Kibbutzim right now. I’m not asking for you to talk about the massacre. I’m not even asking you to talk about the conflict right now. This was ours. This was a music festival, a peaceful music festival. They deserve to hear our voices right now as an industry. And shame on us if we don’t do it.
