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Todrick Hall calls Scooter Braun ‘homophobic’ amid Taylor Swift drama

Demi Lovato stands up for the talent manager

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7 years ago

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Capital Pride Festival, gay news, Washington Blade
Todrick Hall was one of the headliners at the 2019 Capital Pride Festival. (Washington Blade photo by Drew Brown)

Dancer and singer Todrick Hall defended his friend Taylor Swift after she expressed she feels “grossed out” that talent manager Scooter Braun acquired the rights to her old music.

On Sunday, it was announced that Braun has purchased Swift’s old label Big Machine Records and therefore owns the masters of her early albums.

Swift, who claims she found out about the deal when the news broke, took to Tumblr to slam Braun.

“For years I asked, pleaded for a chance to own my work,” Swift wrote. “Instead I was given an opportunity to sign back up to Big Machine Records and ‘earn’ one album back at a time, one for every new one I turned in. I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, [Big Machine president] Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future. I had to make the excruciating choice to leave behind my past. Music I wrote on my bedroom floor and videos I dreamed up and paid for from the money I earned playing in bars, then clubs, then arenas, then stadiums.”

She continued: “Scooter has stripped me of my life’s work, that I wasn’t given an opportunity to buy. Essentially, my musical legacy is about to lie in the hands of someone who tried to dismantle it,” she wrote. “This is my worst case scenario. This is what happens when you sign a deal at fifteen to someone for whom the term ‘loyalty’ is clearly just a contractual concept. And when that man says ‘Music has value’, he means its value is beholden to men who had no part in creating it.”

Hall, who appeared in Swift’s pro-LGBTQ anthem “You Need to Calm Down,” came to Swift’s defense and accused Braun of being homophobic. He also explained that he is no longer represented by Braun.

“For those asking, I left Scooter Braun a long time ago…I am saddened by this news, but not shocked. He is an evil person who’s (sic) only concern is his wealth and feeding his disgusting ego. I believe he is homophobic & I know from his own mouth that he is not a Swift fan,” Hall posted on Twitter. “I truly hope justice is served and that my friend’s music will fall into the hands of a better human,” he tweeted. “I would normally not say anything because I’m sure scooter will threaten me like he has before to keep me quiet, but guess what Scooter, nothing you can do to me would be worst (sic) than the 6 years of my life I can’t get back from when & I was ignored as your ‘artist.”

An employee of Braun’s called Hall’s tweet “disgusting and defamatory” and accused Hall of stealing from fans on his Christmas tour. The employee also claims that Hall was dropped and didn’t leave on his own accord.

Then Hall posted a screenshot of an email he sent to Braun informing him that he would be looking for other representation.

Demi Lovato, who hired Braun as her manager in May, defended Braun against Hall’s homophobic claims on her Instagram story.

“Hey boo, idk you or anything and this isn’t hate, but making claims that someone is homophobic is really serious,” Lovato wrote. “Please don’t spread information that isn’t true because I can guarantee you Scooter isn’t. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, he wouldn’t have signed me if he was. No hate just trying to clear that up.”

Hall responded tweeting, “Just because you have a black friend doesn’t mean you can’t still be racist. And just because you’re not picketing against gay marriage doesn’t mean you’re not homophobic. I said what I said and I believe what I believe. Also, stop using your one client who identifies as queer to stand up for you. There’s no way Demi saw my tweet, that means someone from your team is reaching out to them, using them to defend you. Fight your own battles.”

Braun is also the manager for Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande.

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PHOTOS: World Pride March

LGBTQ rights demonstration held in Amsterdam

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7 hours ago

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August 9, 2026

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A scene from the 2026 World Pride March in Amsterdam. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 2026 World Pride March was held on Saturday, Aug. 8 in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of participants marched from Martin Luther Kingpark to the grounds of the Pride Village at Museumplein.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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PHOTOS: Daddy Issues at Kiki

Evry Pleasure, Tiara Missou-Sidora, Indiana Bones perform

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1 day ago

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August 8, 2026

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Evry Pleasure performs at the 'Daddy Issues' drag show at Kiki on Wednesday. (Washington Blade photo by Landon Shackelford)

The weekly drag show “Daddy Issues” was held at Kiki on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Performers included Evry Pleasure, Indiana Bones and Tiara Missou-Sidora.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

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Books

Something’s off about Dad. When is it time to step in?

‘When Memory Fades’ can help when families face dementia

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1 day ago

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August 8, 2026

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(Book cover image courtesy of St. Martin's Essentials)

‘When Memory Fades’
By Nathaniel Chin, MD
c.2026, St. Martin’s Essentials
$30/422 pages

Mom called you in a panic the other day.

She’d lost her keys and by the time you arrived to help, she’d found them. In the refrigerator.

These kinds of things keep happening, not often but often enough, and you don’t know quite what to worry about. But in the new book “When Memory Fades” by Nathaniel Chin, MD, you’ll learn about the journey ahead, for both of you.

You can’t remember why you walked into a room. You got lost last week, going to the bank. Popular wisdom says that things like that are normal as we age, but Chin says that’s not true – although the answer may not be a worst-case scenario, either. Yes, memory problems could just be signs of stress, dehydration, or lack of sleep – or is it time to see a doctor?

Chin says maybe, yes.

He was working his way through medical residency when his father, a geriatrician in Madison, Wisc., was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Chin, now a geriatrician, was blindsided, but that diagnosis also changed his life.

Here, he writes about the brain, and how Alzheimer’s and dementia are diagnosed, explaining that dementia has many faces and, depending on a doctor’s evaluation, memory problems might be slowed or improved. He shares his father’s illness with readers, but he also writes about his mother, a steadfast, steady caretaker.

Her story reminds reader-guardians to care for themselves, too.

Know how to talk the talk, so that you can have “a more productive” conversation with your doctor. Understand that there’s nothing “normal” about dementia or Alzheimer’s. Know the statistics – African Americans are affected with dementia twice as much as whites – and know how to lower your risks. Learn here what questions to ask, how to break the news to everyone, and any legal matters that will be important soon. And know how to tend to you.

Says Chin, “The best action you can take is to educate yourself… The more you understand, the better equipped you are to make sound judgments.”

Something’s off about Dad, just a lot of little things that don’t add up. When is it time to step in? “When Memory Fades” can help you decide.

Wise, wide-spread, comprehensive, and compassionately helpful, this is a book you can read and then take it to the doctor with your loved one. It’s a book that makes sense when nothing else does, and its biggest feature is that it smoothly transitions from easy-to-grasp science and charts, to gentle coaching for caregivers. Author Nathaniel Chin, MD writes with storytelling, humility, grace, and experience from both sides of the Alzheimer’s/dementia issue, and his words are reassuring but also urgent. Learn, but don’t wait, he says. Know how to safeguard yourself. See your doctor, and don’t fear testing. Watch for signs of depression. And never, ever stop asking for help.

Read those last seven words, and find “When Memory Fades” now. It’s a book to have on your shelf, whether you’re 45 or 95 because, as you’ll see, dementia happens and knowledge is key.

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