A flurry of rumors have been swirling around Justin Bieber as of late, specifically in regard to his financial well being. It’s been alleged that the pop singer is having money problems, and his team attributed those woes to record executive Scooter Braun. Bieber was essentially discovered by Braun years ago and, from there, the two began a business relationship. Now, the “What Do You Mean?” singer is accusing Braun of wrongdoing and disrupting his finances in the process. However, audits would appear to counter those claims.
In 2022, the now-31-year-old pop star embarked up on his Justice World Tour, which was set to promote his albums Justice and Changes. However, that tour was ultimately delayed due the COVID pandemic, and Justin Bieber himself cut the tour short by six months after he experienced facial paralysis due to Type 2 Ramsay Hunt syndrome. That decision ultimately cost Bieber $90 million, and he also found himself in debt to concert promoter AEG for $24 million due to receiving $40 million in advance.
Scooter Braun managed the star at the time and, as noted by TMZ, he ultimately paid off the debt via his company, Hybe. The “Yummy” performer was eventually subject to a payment plan to reimburse Braun, but he reportedly just submitted one installment before he stopped paying. Per the news outlet, Bieber’s business manager, Lou Taylor, dove into the financial records to do some research and surmised that Braun received an excessive sum of $26 million in commission. However, that clashes with other information that’s been unearthed.
An internal audit was apparently conducted by Hybe, which concluded that Justin Bieber actually owed $1 million to Scooter Braun, who was supposedly underpaid in commissions. Bieber supposedly took issue with the audit, claiming it was corrupted, despite Braun apparently wiping out that million dollars. What Bieber purportedly didn’t argue with, though, was a second audit conducted independently by Price Waterhouse, which determined that he owed Braun over $8.806 million.
Justin Bieber’s been making headlines quite often over the past several months, and not just due to his alleged financial issues. This past April, Bieber went viral after having a heated confrontation with a paparazzo. Sources have also alleged that the star, who shares one child with wife Hailey Bieber, has been struggling with Sean “P. Diddy” Combs’ legal woes, given their past friendship. In addition to all of that, some have claimed that the Biebers are experiencing marital problems.
When it comes to Scooter Braun, he’s also generated much discussion in recent years. In 2019, he and Taylor Swift began feuding over the ownership of her album masters. (That controversy prompted Swift to eventually re-record her albums.) 2023 marked a number of changes for Braun, as the Biebs and other high-profile singers like Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande cut ties with Braun. At the time, insiders claimed that the termination of those professional relationships was a long time coming, as his clients felt “undervalued.”
The Bieber/Braun financial situation seems to be at a standstill right now, though TMZ also alleged that Bieber’s camp launched its own internal audit. As of this writing, the results of that inspection have not been divulged. For now, it remains unclear as to whether the pop singer will make any efforts to pay money to his former manager.
