Ariana Grande Posts Then Immediately Deletes Scooter Braun Congratulations Story After Taylor Swift Accuses Him of Bullying

Ariana Grande posted and then quickly deleted an Instagram Story congratulating Scooter Braun on buying Big Machine Records. The post came amid accusations of “bullying” from Taylor Swift, who’s garnered support from other musicians like Halsey.

Daily Mail reported on Grande’s brief show of support, but did not reveal what it said. The post was deleted before anyone could grab a photo of it.

Though she withdrew her support, she isn’t the only one to back him during his feud with Swift and other artists. Demi Lovato, who’s repped by Braun, defended him on social media. She commented on a since-deleted Instagram post made by YouTube personality Todrick Hall, who accused Braun of being “evil” and “homophobic.”

“Hey boo, [I don’t know] you or anything, and this isn’t hate, but making claims that someone is homophobic is really serious,” Lovato wrote. “Please don’t spread information that isn’t true because I can guarantee you Scooter isn’t. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, he wouldn’t have signed me if he was. No hate just trying to clear that up.”

Lovato later updated her Instagram Story, writing, “I have dealt with bad people in this industry, and Scooter is not one of them. He’s a good man. Personally, I’m grateful he came into my life when he did. Please stop ‘dragging’ people or bullying them. There’s enough hate in this world as it is.”

She went on to say, “Y’all can come after me all you want but I’m always gonna stay loyal to my team. I value loyalty more than most people in this world, and if my name is gonna be brought into conversations I’m gonna stand up for myself and the ones in my team.”

Lovato said she “couldn’t be happier” to be signed to Braun’s management company.

Meanwhile other stars are backing Swift in this on-going battle. Halsey, for one, spoke out in her defense, sharing a lengthy post about how this situation shows that the music industry doesn’t value songwriters.

The “Without Me” singer said Swift was “a huge reason” she’s been so adamant about writing her own songs. She claimed that writers like herself and Swift “deserve to own” their art, and reap the benefits of their hard work. Halsey said the situation made her sick watching a woman with such success be made to feel “powerless.”

“Taylor Swift is a huge reason why I always insisted to write my own music. I believed if she did it (in a way that made my teeth ache like cold water and my heart swell and my eyes leak) than I should too,” she wrote in her Twitter post. “Cause that’s how to make someone feel. To drag it from the pits of your heart. To offer it on a platter and say ‘take some but take kindly,’ She deserves to own the painstaking labor of her heart.”

Halsey continued: “She has surpassed expectations of what any artist is even capable of. She catapulted her stardom into the Milky Way. And it turn my guts that no matter how much success a woman has in this life, you are still susceptible to someone coming along and making you feel powerless out of spite.”

The singer said the situation between Braun, 38, and Swift “speaks volumes” about the work that must be done within the music industry. Halsey wrote that writers deserve to be treated with more respect, and have better representation.

Swift aired her grievances with Braun out on Tumblr on Sunday, revealing her disappointment about the fact that her music catalog with former record label Big Machine was sold to a Braun-owned company. She alleged that she felt betrayed by the deal, even going as far as to accuse Braun of “bullying” while making the deal.

“For years I asked, pleaded for the chance to own my work,” she wrote in the Tumblr post. “Instead I was given an opportunity to sign back up for Big Machine Records and ‘earn’ one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in. I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future. I had to make the excruciating choice to leave behind my past. Music I wrote on my bedroom floor and videos I dreamed up and paid for from the money I earned playing in bars, then clubs, then arenas, then stadiums.”

Swift claimed she found out the deal had been made along with the rest of the world. “All I could think about was the incessant, manipulative bullying I’ve received at his hands for years,” she claimed.

Billboard reported that Braun’s company, Ithaca Holdings, bought Scott Borcehtta’s Big Machine for more than $300 million. The deal was supported by the Carlyle Group and includes the Big Machine Music publishing arm.

Swift left the label in 2017, moving to Universal Music Group. Big Machine still works with some major artists, like Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett and Reba McEntire.