Scooter Braun is suggesting that he’s taking the high road.
On Tuesday, the 38-year-old record executive shared a cryptic message on Twitter about “kindness” amid his public feud with Taylor Swift.
Braun shared a photo that read, “Kindness is the only response,” while captioning the post, “Words to live by
.”
Although Braun didn’t elaborate, the tweet came just one day after Big Machine Label Group announced to PEOPLE in a statement that Swift, 29, has been cleared to perform her early hits at the American Music Awards on Sunday.
Last week, the multi-Grammy winner released a scathing Tumblr post (shared on her Twitter as well), accusing Braun and her former label head Scott Borchetta of blocking her from performing her pre-Lover songs in a medley at the upcoming awards show where she’s due to receive the artist of the decade award.
On Monday, BMLG told PEOPLE in a statement that they have “come to terms on a licensing agreement that approves their artists’ performances to stream post show and for re-broadcast on mutually approved platforms. This includes the upcoming American Music Awards performances.”
The statement went on to clarify that “recording artists do not need label approval for live performances on television or any other live media. Record label approval is only needed for contracted artists’ audio and visual recordings and in determining how those works are distributed.”
The announcement effectively allows Swift to perform songs recorded prior to her current album, Lover.
The pop star has yet to comment on the news, and Dick Clark Productions — the team behind the AMAs — released a statement of their own Monday afternoon, clarifying, “At no time did Dick Clark productions agree to, create, authorize or distribute a statement in partnership with Big Machine Label Group regarding Taylor Swift’s performance at the 2019 American Music Awards. Any final agreement on this matter needs to be made directly with Taylor Swift’s management team. We have no further comment.”
Last Thursday, Swift reached out to her followers and told them she didn’t “know what else to do,” sharing a lengthy post detailing the ways that Braun, Borchetta, and BMLG allegedly tried to bar her from performing her old music.
“I’ve been planning to perform a medley of my hits throughout the decade on the show. Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun have now said that I’m not allowed to perform my old songs on television because they claim that would be re-recording my music before I’m allowed to next year,” she wrote.
The singer also revealed she has been working with Netflix on a documentary about her “life for the past few years,” but that Borchetta and Braun — who purchased BMLG for $300 million earlier this year — have “declined the use of my older music or performance footage for this project.”
According to Swift, Borchetta tried to negotiate and offered to let her perform and use her music if she agreed not to re-record “copycat versions” of her old songs and “stop talking about him and Scooter Braun.”
However, the superstar reiterated her criticism of the business partners and urged her fans for help.
“The message being sent to me is very clear. Basically, be a good little girl and shut up. Or you’ll be punished,” wrote Swift. “Please let Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun know how you feel about this.”
Hours later, BMLG responded in a statement on their website and denied Swift’s allegations, accusing the star of “false information.”
“As Taylor Swift’s partner for over a decade, we were shocked to see her Tumblr statements yesterday based on false information. At no point did we say Taylor could not perform on the AMAs or block her Netflix special,” the statement read. “In fact, we do not have the right to keep her from performing live anywhere. Since Taylor’s decision to leave Big Machine last fall, we have continued to honor all of her requests to license her catalog to third parties as she promotes her current record in which we do not financially participate.”
The label went on to claim that they had “worked diligently” to try and have a conversation with Swift, concluding with, “To date, not one of the invitations to speak with us and work through this has been accepted.”
A spokesperson for Swift responded with another statement, reiterating that “Scott Borchetta, CEO and founder of Big Machine Label Group, flatly denied the request for both American Music Awards and Netflix,” and alleged BMLG owes the singer “$7.9 million dollars of unpaid royalties over several years.”
This bout comes nearly five months since Swift’s last spat with Braun and Borchetta, and a source close to the artist said she is not bothered by the backlash she may receive for sharing her side of the story.
“She is expressing her truth and doesn’t care what other people say,” the source told PEOPLE on Friday. “This is her life and she finds the whole album catalog drama insanely wrong. She wants her fans to know what’s going on.”
“She is an artist who tries to share her music with her fans,” the source added. “When she isn’t able to, she will obviously be upset about it.”
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