It’s been a busy summer for Sydney Sweeney, stirring up controversy and schadenfreude while enduring movie flops.
The 27-year-old “Euphoria” star, knowingly or not, triggered a seismic cultural debate over the perceived, pro-white-supremacy messaging in her American Eagle denim ad campaign, while delighting Donald Trump and his supporters who loved learning she was a registered Republican and seeing her cause a “leftist meltdown.” Sweeney also paraded around in Venice at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s oligarchic wedding, despite only being there to secure a business investment. More recently, she left 92-year-old Kim Novak worried that her new movie project would sensationalize the “Vertigo” legend’s real-life, forbidden love affair with Sammy Davis Jr.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 18: Scooter Braun attends the 2024 ADL “In Concert Against Hate” at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall on November 18, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Anti-Defamation League)
But Sweeney is now poised to incite the wrath of another significant population of people who live online — Taylor Swift fans.
After weeks of rumors, TMZ confirmed that Sweeney is dating one of Swift’s biggest enemies, Scooter Braun. Sources told TMZ that Sweeney and the record executive met at the Bezos-Sanchez wedding and have been on multiple dates, though they are keeping things “casual” for now. As one source said, “Sydney has just ended a relationship and she’s doing what women in their 20’s do — she’s dating.”
It’s expected that Sweeney wouldn’t be put off by her 17-year age difference with the 44-year-old Braun, given that she was previously engaged to businessman Jonathan Davino, who was 42 when they split in January.
But by being publicly linked to Braun, Sweeney is sure to stir up more interest in her private life, as well as potential controversy, at a time when her publicists might prefer she focus on promoting her third movie to come out this summer, “Christy,” a biopic about pioneering lesbian boxer Christy Martin. Sweeney could be in the Oscar conversation for best actress if the film and her performance as Martin is well received at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Instead, her choice to date Braun could be what people are talking about. Among other things, Braun reportedly made Swift’s life miserable by engaging in a bitter, historical feud with her, starting in 2019, when he acquired ownership of her first six albums by purchasing Big Machine Records, according to Billboard.
Swift was devastated to learn about Braun’s purchase, especially since she had been trying to buy back her own masters for years and this sale, she said, occurred without her knowledge. Swifties may not forget how Swift accused the music manager of being a “bully” and a “tyrant” and of wanting her music for “nefarious reasons,” according to Billboard. The feud sparked ongoing conversations about artists’ rights, private equity and the value of re-releasing music.
Swift vowed to get artistic control of her own work by re-recording the six albums, under the title “Taylor’s version.” Speaking to Time magazine when she was named its Person of the Year in 2023, she described the situation with Braun as “having my life’s work taken away from me by someone who hates me.”
“My response to anything that happens, good or bad, is to keep making things,” she added. “Keep making art … But I’ve also learned there’s no point in actively trying to quote unquote defeat your enemies. Trash takes itself out every single time.”
The feud more or less ended in May, when Swift announced she had been able to buy back her masters from those six albums, Billboard reported. She wrote on her website that she had been dreaming about owning her masters for years. “I almost stopped thinking I could ever happy, after 20 years of having the carrot dangled and then yanked away. But that’s all in the past now.”
For Swift fans, Braun’s actions with regard to her music may not remain in the past. They and other Braun critics may turn their attention to Sweeney and question her taste in men, her motives for dating the former talent manager and what this choice says about her character. It appears that some Braun critics have already rendered their verdict on Sweeney in the comments section of the TMZ story.
“What a step down!!!” one person said. “But he does have contacts and is super rich so I see what she is doing here…..”
“Both are gross. They deserve each other,” another person said, to which yet another replied: “Agreed!”
