Swifites all over the world were sent into a state of mayhem following the release of Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album, Midnights, but one song in particular is sending them over the edge. In it, Swift appears to take criminally pointed jabs at her former record label owner, Scooter Braun.
Swift and Braun’s tumultuous past dates back to 2019, when Braun became the owner of Big Machine Records and denied Swift the right to buy back her music. Since then, Swift has fought long and hard to re-record her past discography, and equally as hard to ensure that the world knows how much she dislikes Braun.
Titled “Vigilante Sh*t,” Swift’s new song touts eyebrow-raising lyrics like, “Well, he was doin’ lines and crossin’ all of mine / Someone told his white collar crimes to the FBI.” Fans of Swift ⏤ who by nature are not typically fans of Braun ⏤ took to Twitter to share why they believe this is a direct reference to Braun getting sued by former Goldman Sachs executive Peter Comisar for $200 million in 2021.
Swift takes things one step further with lyrics like, “She needed cold hard proof, so I gave her some / She had the envelope, where you think she got it from?” seemingly referring to Braun’s divorce from ex-wife Yael Cohen in 2021 and possibly the alleged cheating scandal with Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne.
Following their divorce, Cohen held onto their $30 million Brentwood house, as well as their 2021 Land Rover Defender, and joint custody of their three children. Made no less evident by the lyrics, “Now she gets the house, gets the kids, gets the pride / Picture me thick as thieves with your ex-wife.”
Whichever way you spin it, Braun is likely unhappy with this unwanted form of publicity. On the one hand, he could be used to it by now, but on the other, who ever really gets used to being roasted by Taylor Swift in song?
Upon the release of Midnights, Spotify briefly crashed, and now one Twitter user is convinced that Braun had a hand in it, if only to delay his public flaying.
Swift has officially entered into a new phase of her music career. Gone are the day Folklore and Evermore‘s melancholy undertones. No more crying under disco balls and meeting lovers at the front door. The kettle has just gone off, and like Reputation before it, Midnights‘ cup of tea is piping hot.