The two-episode special is now streaming on Max and Discovery+
“Taylor Swift is the most successful music artist of all time.”
That arguable but not outlandish sentence is how the new docuseries “Bad Blood: Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun” begins. The two episodes of the Discovery+ special out Friday and also streaming on Max — cleverly titled “Taylor’s Version” and “Scooter’s Version” — do a serviceable job of framing the narrative from both perspectives, even if they are mostly just a retread for those who closely follow pop culture.
In November 2019, Scott Borchetta sold his label Big Machine Records to Braun, and with it, the masters of Swift’s early work. She has since re-released “Fearless,” “Red,” “Speak Now” and “1989” after he became the owner of her first six studio albums.
The doc picks up in December 2019 at the Billboard Women in Music Awards. In a speech at the event, Swift shares her side of the story, explaining she was not given the chance to purchase her own work, resulting in Braun’s Ithaca Holdings buying her entire catalog.
From that point on, music journalists, attorneys, writers, podcasters, academics, friends, fans and employees offer an in-depth look at the Swift vs. Braun drama on a tricky timeline in non-chronological order. Here are the 13 biggest takeaways from “Bad Blood”:
The first episode recaps the “Tortured Poets Department” singer’s career through red carpet appearances and headlines. It also features various past interviews with Swift herself, as well as her social media posts.
With that said, the doc doesn’t actually reveal anything new about the superstar.
While not a total surprise, Episode 1 dedicates a good portion of its setup to explaining how the rapper interrupting Swift onstage at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards was actually a catalyst for everything to come.
Braun managed West until 2018, suggesting an ulterior motive for the now retired manager’s initial purchase of Big Machine.
While many people have heard and seen portions of Kardashian’s Snapchat video proving Swift knew about West’s “Famous” line before it dropped, the complete unedited version is on full display here.
“That’s not mean,” the singer even admits of the lyrics. The clip in question resulted in Swift being called a snake, which she has since reclaimed in her “Reputation” era.
The “Baby” singer has since apologized for getting involved, but the doc highlights how his role as Braun’s biggest client and the world’s biggest male pop star impacted Swift.
The songwriter even once accused Bieber of bullying her on Tumblr.
From her dating life being the butt of constant jokes to her sexual assault trial against a radio DJ, “Bad Blood” points out the unfair world in which female pop stars operate that their male counterparts don’t even have to consider.
Despite being a docuseries about a prolific songwriter with hundreds of tracks, “The Man” and “Bad Blood” are the only songs actually featured in the episodes. Apt song choices, though.
The latter track is used to showcase Swift’s ever-changing 2015 girl squad.
Once Braun sold the masters for $300 million to Shamrock Holdings, Swift successfully changed the narrative from a contractual battle into a moral story of Goliath vs. Goliath. However, Episode 2 tells a different story of America’s favorite unreliable narrator…
While the first episode was pretty much recapping the public discourse between its two subjects from Swift’s point of view through interviews and headlines, Episode 2 begins with an apparent threat in Swift’s own words:
“Please let Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun know how you feel about this.”
Similar to how Swift’s career was analyzed in the first part, Episode 2 dives into Braun’s history — again, without much new information. Although, that may be because of Swift’s apparent NDA.
Since Braun didn’t technically do anything illegal, some participants in the doc suggest that Swift was in the wrong to weaponize her intense fandom against him.
Select Swifties even went as far as threatening the music manager, as seen in screenshots. The doc also suggests that Swift’s fanbase is responsible for Braun’s ex-wife Yael Cohen filing for divorce due to the online vitriol against him.
A third of the way through the second episode, attorneys say that Swift got everything she could have possibly wanted out of her initial contract — including the same car as Regina George from “Mean Girls.”
Legal experts also point out that Swift’s consent was not needed in the selling of her masters, while others go as far as suggesting she was well aware of the deal.
As previously reported, the docuseries also highlights how the Big Machine boss claimed Swift was actually in conversation to once purchase her own masters in great detail, which goes directly against her narrative.
“Taylor had every chance in the world to own not just her master recordings, but every video, photograph, everything associated to her career,” featured legal docs state. “She chose to leave.”
Swift’s dad purchased 3% in Big Machine as a minority shareholder. That means he made $15.1 million in the sale to Braun … something that ostensibly could have been discussed with his daughter.
Taylor’s team denies this claim.
While celebs like Kelly Clarkson and Halsey have publicly defended Swift, “Bad Blood” made sure to list all the other celebrities who’ve had their own issues with her as well: Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, Calvin Harris, Joe Jonas, etc.
The two-part docuseries ends with a statement from Team Swift: “Taylor has completely moved on from this saga and has turned what started out as an extremely painful situation into one of the most fulfilling creative endeavors of her life.”
“None of these men will ever be able to take anything away from Taylor’s legacy as a songwriter, singer, director, philanthropist and advocate for artists’ rights,” it concluded.
All in all, it is interesting to see the entire feud played out in one convenient package. However, neither Swifties nor Braunies (?) will actually glean much new information from this conveniently timed but not too investigative docuseries.
It is worth noting, however, that Braun officially retired from music management the same week the docuseries premiered. Mere coincidence? The world may never know.
“Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” is now streaming on Max and Discovery+.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
