Scooter Braun is speaking out about his fractured relationship with Kanye West in the aftermath of the rapper’s highly controversial behavior in recent years.
In the latest episode of Question Everything with Danielle Robay, the music mogul revealed that he no longer recognizes the man he once worked closely with and managed for several years.
“I don’t know him anymore,” Braun said regarding his relationship with Ye, before explaining his thoughts on the rapper’s now years-long string of antisemitic remarks and Nazi flirtations. “And I think the person that I knew wasn’t someone who says those things. Sometimes the hardest thing to do with someone you care about is mourn them while they’re still here. The person that I knew is not the person that I’m seeing, so I don’t have a relationship anymore.”
Braun, who is Jewish and whose grandparents survived the Holocaust, added that he would rather not get mixed up in what Ye has been preaching lately and instead stand on “positivity” and being “gracious” and “kind” to all people. When asked if Ye could be redeemed, Braun expressed uncertainty, saying his focus now is on raising his three children and ensuring they are strong in today’s world.
“I don’t know him, and I think right now, I have three beautiful kids that need a dad to focus on them and make sure they’re prepared and strong in this world,” he said. “That’s going to be my focus.”
Braun officially stepped away from music management in June 2024 to concentrate on his role as CEO of HYBE America, a position he recently exited. In addition to Ye, Braun also managed stars like Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, and Justin Bieber, the last of whom he recently spoke about in another podcast.
“We worked together for so long and we had such extreme success, and I think you get to a point as a man where you want to show the world you can do it on your own. I think at this point, that’s what he’s doing,” said Braun on The Diary of a CEO.
West, for his part, claimed in May he was “done with antisemitism” and asked for forgiveness on social media, though his statement was met with widespread skepticism.
