Scooter Braun was all set to “decline” Demi Lovato’s request to manage her career.
The 27-year-old singer landed Scooter as her new manager last May (2019), and in an interview with Bustle the pair opened up on the decision.
“In the past, I projected my own abandonment issues onto other people, especially male figures that I looked up to as father figures,” Demi told Bustle about her previous management. “I had to reflect on, ‘What do I want my relationship with my manager to look like without enmeshing my own father issues onto him?’”
While Scooter added that having experience of shepherding Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande “through trauma and mental health struggles” made him understanding of Demi’s issues.
“I felt like, because I’ve been through that a couple of times with people who started off very young, I can understand (Demi’s) struggles a little bit,” he said.
However, Scooter then revealed that during their first meeting, he wasn’t ready to take her on.
“My intention was to be respectful and decline,” he confessed. “She was nervous… What I saw is that she needed someone who didn’t need her. And about halfway through the meeting, (my partner Allison Kaye and I) both looked at each other and instinctually kind of laughed. And then Allison texted me and goes, ‘You’re thinking the same thing I am.’
“I knew I could help her. I knew Allison could help her. I knew that we were in a position, in our lives and our careers, that if Demi needed to take three years off, she can do that. And if Demi needs us to go and have an honest conversation and get her out of something, it doesn’t affect my reputation.”
Demi admitted she was “nervous” and feared her problems with drugs made her an undesirable prospect.
“I was nervous because I wanted him to manage me so bad, and I was terrified of rejection,” Demi said.
“Also, having gone through such a public overdose, I didn’t know if anyone would want to manage me after that.”
