Justin Bieber responds after Taylor Swift calls him out amid Scooter Braun 'bullying' accusations

Justin Bieber has responded after being called out in Taylor Swift's Tumblr post, where she expressed her distress that Scooter Braun will own her music following his company's deal with Big Machine Records.

The pop star, who is set to release her new album Lover on 23 August, posted a reaction on Tumblr after it emerged that Braun’s media holding company Ithaca Holdings LLC had reached a “finalised contract”, where it will acquire Big Machine Label Group, Swift’s former label.

The deal is worth a reported $300m, Billboard reports, and means Braun’s company will gain the six albums Swift has released to date – from her self-titled 2006 debut to her 2017 album Reputation – as well as music by artists including Sheryl Crow and Lady Antebellum.

Swift made it clear she was unhappy with the news and accused Braun of bullying her for years. At the top of the post was a screenshot from a post by Justin Bieber, who is managed by Braun, showing the pair of them with Kanye West appearing to laugh at Swift after a nude depiction of her was featured in West's video for "Famous".

"Hey Taylor. First of all i would like to apologize for posting that hurtful instagram post, at the time i thought it was funny but looking back it was distasteful and insensitive," Bieber wrote.

"I have to be honest though it was my caption and post that I screenshoted of scooter and Kanye that said “taylor swift what up” he didnt have anything to do with it and it wasnt even a part of the conversation in all actuality he was the person who told me not to joke like that [sic]."

However, Bieber quickly began to appear to try and accuse Swift of bullying Braun.

"Scooter has had your back since the days you graciously let me open up for you!" he wrote. "As the years have passed we haven’t crossed paths and gotten to communicate our differences, hurts or frustrations. So for you to take it to social media and get people to hate on scooter isn’t fair. What were you trying to accomplish by posting that blog? seems to me like it was to get sympathy u also knew that in posting that your fans would go and bully scooter.

"Anyway, One thing i know is both scooter and i love you. I feel like the only way to resolve conflict is through communication. So banter back and fourth online i dont believe solves anything. I’m sure Scooter and i would love to talk to you and resolve any conflict, pain or or any feelings that need to be addressed. Neither scooter or i have anything negative to say about you we truly want the best for you. I usually don’t rebuttal things like this but when you try and deface someone i loves character that's crossing a line."

Bieber is one of the few artists so far to speak in Braun's defence. At the time of writing, reports on social media suggest that a number of other high-profile singers, including Camila Cabello, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Miley Cyrus, have unfollowed Braun. Other singers, such as Halsey, have shared their own distaste at the situation and expressed solidarity with Swift.