Scooter Braun Stands Firm on Vacation Amid Ariana Grande Relationship Drama

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Ariana Grande's team reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with Scooter Braun after he allegedly declined to cut short his vacation to address the media frenzy surrounding her rumored relationship with Ethan Slater, her co-star from "Wicked." Grande is among several music stars who have reportedly severed ties with the music manager in recent months.

It's understood that Demi Lovato and Idina Menzel, of "Frozen" fame, have parted ways with Braun's SB Projects. Additionally, Justin Bieber is rumored to be seeking legal counsel to terminate his contract with the influential manager.

So far, none of these artists have publicly responded to these reports. Braun seemed to jest about the rumors earlier in the week, quipping that he was "no longer managing himself." In a new report from Puck writer Matthew Belloni on Friday, August 25th, who initially broke news of Grande's departure, tensions between the pop star and Braun were allegedly escalated by Braun's response to her relationship controversy earlier this year.

Grande's Relationship and Slater's Marital Situation Unveiled

Back in July, shortly after Grande's separation from her husband of nearly two years, Dalton Gomez, it was revealed that she was dating Slater. However, Slater was already married to Lilly Jay since 2018, and in January 2023, he announced the birth of their son on Instagram.

Last month, he reportedly filed for divorce. Jay gave an interview to Page Six a week after reports about the romance surfaced, where she mentioned, "Grande is the story, really. Not a girl's girl. My family is just collateral damage." According to Belloni's report, Grande's team urged Braun to leave his European holiday and travel to New York to help manage the media storm, but he allegedly declined, stating, "I deserve a vacation," based on sources cited by Belloni.

The Independent has reached out to representatives of both Braun and Grande for comment. On Tuesday, August 22nd, Braun took to Twitter to break his silence on the alleged departures, posting, "Breaking news... I'm no longer managing myself." This seemed to be a playful response to online memes regarding the number of people leaving his company, with fictional characters like Tár from "And Just Like That" and Paolo Valisari from "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" joining in the jest.

Meanwhile, sources close to Braun have asserted that he's stepping back from day-to-day management duties to concentrate on his role as CEO of HYBE America, the South Korean entertainment powerhouse behind K-pop sensation BTS.

As per one source's statement to Variety, "All of Scooter Braun's clients are under contract, and negotiations have been ongoing for several months as Scooter takes on his expanded role as HYBE America CEO. People are spreading rumors based on their knowledge, but they're off the mark.

Scooter's team at SB Projects continues to manage both Justin and Ariana as they navigate this new structure." It's worth noting that Braun has long been embroiled in a feud with Taylor Swift since 2019, stemming from his acquisition of her longtime label, Big Machine Records, and subsequent ownership of the master recordings of her first six albums.

In late 2020, Braun sold the masters to an investment fund in a deal estimated to be over $300 million. At the time, Swift criticized Braun, labeling him a "bully" and the embodiment of "toxic male privilege" in the industry.