Everybody wants to know what’s going on with Scooter Braun

How often does a talent manager go viral on Twitter? More often than you’d think, though it’s a bit of a Spiders Georg situation in which the talent manager going viral is always Scooter Braun. He was famous for kickstarting Justin Bieber’s career, and mega infamous for messing with Taylor Swift’s. Their feud turned him into a near-household name (as typically happens for any of Swift’s associates), but this week his name is going viral for an entirely different reason—that is, his clients are reportedly dropping like flies.

There are two stories circulating about why so many of Braun’s clientele have left the stable. One, which is obviously the Scooter-approved version, is that he’s simply stepping back from “day-to-day management” to focus on his role as CEO of HYBE America, a branch of the South Korean multinational entertainment company that manages K-pop stars BTS. In that version of the story, Braun’s biggest stars Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber aren’t parting ways with him but instead are staying with the company even as he shifts his responsibilities. Anonymous sources for both TMZ and Variety are pushing this particular spin.

The other version pushes “unsavory relations” between Braun and clients

The other version is juicier, but a lot more opaque; according to Variety, “Reps are stonewalling and insiders are clamming up fast” when asked for the real truth about Braun. “He’s imploding,” one source was willing to tell the outlet. “It’s a different world since the pandemic. You just can’t be an asshole like that anymore.” That source teased supposed “unsavory revelations” about Braun coming to light, but as yet there haven’t been any—much to the consternation of X/Twitter users. Many have questioned what Braun could possibly have done behind the scenes to alienate his talent, in between creating lots of memes about other fictional clients parting ways. The memes became so widespread that Braun got in on the action himself: “Breaking news… I’m no longer managing myself,” he posted, apparently as a joke, on Tuesday.

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It’s no joke to Puck News’ Matt Belloni, who first reported the estrangement between Braun and his first and most famous client, Bieber. After Bieber’s camp denied any bad blood with Braun, Belloni insisted it was a “face-saving favor” to his (possibly former) manager. “Oh no, this is embarrassing for TMZ,” Belloni tweeted when the tabloid reported that Bieber and Grande were still with SB Projects. “Harvey [Levin, TMZ’s founder] and Scooter are BFFs but Harvey man, the brand has gotta come first….”

The news trickling out since has still been dicey, but seems to confirm Belloni’s reporting. “Justin’s been working on his new record for the last six months. Scooter and SB Projects have not set up one session or done one thing for this [new] record. The relationship with Scooter has run its course,” an insider told People, adding that the pair hadn’t spoken in nearly a year despite Bieber still being under contract with SB Projects. Meanwhile, another People source confirmed Grande had exited as well, saying she and her ex-manager “are friendly but she’s outgrown him and is excited to go in a different direction. Yes there are negotiations happening because of contracts. But this is her choice. It’s time for something new.” (Grande briefly severed their relationship in 2016 but returned to Braun after several months.)

That’s two of the biggest names on Braun’s roster gone, and they’re not the only ones. It was reported earlier this week that Demi Lovato had also “amicably” parted ways, in addition to Broadway star Idina Menzel. J Balvin reportedly broke up with Braun in May. All of those departures could indeed be because these performers want a manager more hands-on than someone who is also busy running a major entertainment company. But inquiring minds want to know: is there something more sinister that has the stars running in the other direction? Has Taylor Swift’s beloved karma come for Braun after all? “Spider-boy, king of thieves/Weave your little webs of opacity,” she mockingly sang on the Midnights track. “Trick me once, trick me twice/Don’t you know that cash ain’t the only price? It’s coming back around.” Seems like that prophecy may be coming true after all.