By: Katie Borders

Opinion Editor

After 16 years of working together, rumors are circulating about Justin Bieber parting ways with long-time manager and friend Scooter Braun. Rumors continue after several of Braun’s top clients recently parted ways with Braun and his company, SB Project, including Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, J Balvin and Idina Menzel Braun. Now, sources claim that Bieber and Braun have not spoken for months and that Bieber is independently working on projects without Braun, leaving the public wondering if Bieber will be leaving Braun’s management as well. 

Bieber and Braun have a long history together, starting in the early 2000s. Braun initially met Bieber in 2008, after viewing videos of Bieber performing song covers on YouTube. Several months later, Bieber, 14, signed to Raymond Braun Media Group and in May 2009, Bieber released his first single: “One Time.” Braun was credited as executive producer, as he would be listed for all of Bieber’s future releases. Braun also reportedly introduced Selena Gomez to Bieber, Bieber’s long-time crush and ex-girlfriend, in 2009.

In 2010, police deemed one of Bieber’s signing events in Long Island too dangerous due to the large number of people who attended; Braun reportedly resisted canceling the event, which resulted in his arrest for misdemeanor charges. However, Bieber immediately spoke out against Braun’s arrest, wearing a “Free Scooter” t-shirt, and claimed, “The decisions he made that day were to protect the safety of myself and my fans.” 

Bieber, in 2014, was arrested twice; however in both instances, Braun spoke out in defense of Bieber. Later that year, Bieber attended Braun and Yael Cohen’s wedding, and the following year when Cohen gave birth to a son, Bieber was one of the first to visit him at the hospital.

In 2019, the infamous feud between Braun and Taylor Swift climaxed, when Braun acquired Big Machine Records, which meant that he owned Swift’s first six albums. Bieber took Braun’s side in the matter and posted a photo of Swift and him from when he opened for her Fearless album in 2009, captioning it, “I usually don’t rebuttal things like this but when you try and deface someone i loves character thats crossing a line.” 

Bieber and Braun continued to have a friendly relationship throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in August, Bieber was reportedly looking to split from Braun and find new management. Bieber had already replaced his lawyers, and broke from his agency, CAA, after deciding with his wife, Hailey Bieber, to do some “house-cleaning.”

Sources commenting on what is going on between Bieber and Braun are extremely divided. One reporter from Entertainment Tonight claims that the rumors of Bieber splitting from Braun are false. Bieber’s contract with Braun runs until 2027, which would make leaving Braun’s management very difficult for Bieber. A representative of Bieber also claims that the rumors are false. However, other sources tell Vulture and other news outlets offer a different story. Additionally, Mathew Belloni, a Puck reporter, states that Bieber’s representative only made the statement as “a face saving favor to Braun” because Bieber is still “contractually bound to Braun … Translation: Don’t believe [the statement].”

(Sources: Vulture, US Weekly, Variety, People, Mercury News)