A Lasting Impression: Scooter Braun Says Taylor Swift Was ‘Kind’ to Him When They First Met

First impressions last. Scooter Braun spoke highly of Taylor Swift despite their recent feud over the rights to her music after he bought her former label, Big Machine Records.

On Thursday, July 25, Scooter, 38, spoke with Billboard about his $300 million purchase of Big Machine and Taylor’s harsh criticism of the deal. The celebrity manager told the magazine that the “ME!” singer, 29, made a good first impression on him when they first met.

“Everyone at Big Machine — Taylor was kind, Scott was kind — everyone was kind to me and [Justin Bieber] when we were doing that show, and you don’t forget those things,” said Scooter. “I never forgot that.”

Despite Scooter’s kind sentiment, he refused to comment directly on Taylor’s reaction to the purchase. After learning about the transaction, Taylor took to Tumblr to express her feelings on the matter. “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. This is my worst-case scenario.”

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An insider confessed to Us Weekly that “Scooter is open to having a private conversation with Taylor to clear up everything that went down.” The source added, “He reposted some messages of support on his Instagram Stories, but he has no intention of releasing a formal statement and blowing up the situation even more than it already has been. This is between Scooter and Taylor, not the world.”

The “Bad Blood” singer has continued to make the issue very public and even made a dig at him during her performance at the Amazon Prime concert on July 10. While performing her hit song “Shake It Off,” she put a special emphasis on one line in particular. “The liars and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world, you could have been getting down to this sick beat,” she sang.

Scooter’s wife, Yael Cohen, also spoke out on the matter. The 32-year-old took to Instagram on Sunday, June 30, claiming that Taylor was offered the rights to her music but chose to pass in addition to other allegations. “What you haven’t seen is what happens behind closed doors, when he has supported and stood up for you,” she wrote. “How embarrassing this temper tantrum is because you didn’t get your own way. He believes in and supports you, I sincerely hope you can learn to love and believe in yourself the way my husband does.”