Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato have dropped the controversial artist manager Scooter Braun. Billboard broke the news that Lovato (who goes by she/her and they/them pronouns) had said goodbye to her partnership with Braun's SB Projects, with whom she has worked since 2019. Grande has worked with Braun since the release of her first album, Yours Truly, in 2013.
Braun is perhaps best known as the person who acquired Taylor Swift's master recordings after his purchase of her former label Big Machine, which he then sold to a private equity firm—a move that spurred her to release "Taylor's Version" re-records of her albums. Though Grande and Lovato haven't publicly announced their reasons for parting ways with Braun, it's notable that it happened the same summer that Taylor Swift could become the proud owner of the highest-grossing tour of all time.
The timing is especially interesting considering both Lovato and Grande have announced projects that look back on their music careers in the next month. Grande will celebrate the tenth anniversary of Your Truly with several days of special events at the end of August, while Lovato plans to release Demi Lovato Revamped on September 15, which will see re-recordings of some of her biggest songs like "Cool for the Summer" and "Sorry Not Sorry."
Braun and Justin Bieber.
Braun has not commented publicly on the splits at the time of writing, and recently wished Lovato a happy birthday on social media. A Lovato source told Billboard simply that "it was time for Lovato to go in a new direction" but that she was thankful for the work they did together.
It does appear that an exodus may be underway. J Balvin also parted ways with Braun earlier this year, though Justin Bieber—whom Braun famously discovered online at age 13—recently denied through his reps the rumors that he would also be dropping the manager. However, sources claimed to Page Six that their relationship is strained and they reportedly have not spoken in months.