Panic! at the Disco frontman Brendon Urie is siding with his friend and “Me!” collaborator Taylor Swift amid the songstress’ feud with Scooter Braun following his purchase of her former label, Big Machine Records, and her back catalog of master recordings. In an expletive-riddled live Twitch video on Monday, Urie weighed in on the drama and the “toxic” music industry.
“Man, this f–king Scooter Braun s–, like, what a piece of s–, right?” Urie said. “You guys know about this dude? It just, like, broke my heart. I read Taylor’s statement and I was like, ‘That sounds about right, ya know. Toxic dudes doing toxic bulls– in this toxic industry.’”
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“Yeah, it’s disgusting, right? What a f–ing a–hole,” he continued. “Sending love to Taylor Swift. Always, always.”
The drama between Braun and Swift started early Sunday after the “Bad Blood” singer took to Tumblr address the recent purchase of her music catalog with former record label, Big Machine, being sold to Braun’s company Ithaca Holdings. The back catalog Braun has now acquired from Swift includes her self-titled album, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989 and her most-recently released album Reputation.
In her post, Swift called the acquisition her “worst case scenario” and accused Braun of subjecting her to “incessant, manipulative bullying” for years and “controlling a woman who didn’t want to be associated” with him.
“Some fun facts about today’s news: I learned about Scooter Braun’s purchase of my masters as it was announced to the world,” she wrote. “All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years.”
The acquisition and Swift’s post prompted a wave of support from Swifties, and a massive #WeStandWithTaylor movement on social media. In his video, Urie confirmed that he, too, stands with Swift.
“He doesn’t sound like a very good person, does he?” Urie said. “I stand with Taylor, of course. It’s a s–show to learn how awful people can be just for a profit. Just for a monetary gain. And maybe some clout. I don’t know what clout they feel like they deserve. It’s like, dude, you screwed over a young artist early on and knew you were doing it. Everybody involved in that is a piece of s–…It breaks my heart.”
Urie is far from the first celebrity to add their voice to the debate. While Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato have voiced their support for Braun, Cara Delevigne, Halsey, Iggy Azalea, and several more have come to Swift’s defense, many criticizing the current state of the music industry.
