Taylor Swift appears to take aim at Scooter Braun’s purchase of her masters from Scott Borchetta six years ago on a track from her new album The Life of a Showgirl titled Father Figure.
While the song, which is listed fourth on the record, bears the name of the 1987 George Michael ballad, and the late musical icon is listed as a co-writer, it is not a cover track.Â
As the heavily-anticipated album was released Friday, a number of fans online appeared to think Swift was referring to Scott Borchetta – the owner of her ex-record label Big Machine – on the track.Â
Lyrics on the sharp track include: ‘You made a deal with this devil / Turns out my d***’s bigger… You pulled the wrong trigger / This empire belongs to me / Leave it with me.’Â
One user said, ‘Father figure being about scott borchetta makes so much sense and yet i never saw it coming,’ while others made clear their spirited support for Swift.Â
Braun bought the master recordings of Swift’s first six albums in June 2019 in a controversial deal worth an estimated $300 million. The controversial 2019 transaction, which Braun conducted through Ithaca Holdings, was for Swift’s first six albums.Â
Taylor Swift appears to take aim at Scooter Braun’s purchase of her masters from Scott Borchetta six years ago, on a track from her new album The Life of a Showgirl titled Father FigureÂ
Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta posed for a photo June 28, 2019 in Montecito, California after making the deal, which set off the feud with the Shake It Off singerÂ
Swift complained six years ago that she wasn’t given a proper opportunity to obtain the masters for herself. Swift announced that she finally bought the masters earlier this year.  Â
Swift’s eventual response was to re-record all six albums, with four of them have already been released. The nostalgic music helped fueling her wildly-successful The Eras Tour.
Hours before The Life of a Showgirl officially dropped, all 12 tracks leaked online in low-quality audio across Discord and other platforms.Â
Within minutes, Swifties were dissecting every verse, from the scathing to the swoon-worthy, sparking feverish speculation about whether she was singing about her fiancé Travis Kelce, or rumored industry rivals like Charli XCX and Olivia Rodrigo.
The record marks a major milestone for Swift: her first as an engaged woman, following Kelce’s romantic, garden proposal in August 2025.
It also ushers in a bold new era for the 14-time Grammy winner, who ditched her longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff for the first time in over a decade.
Instead, she co-produced the album with pop powerhouses Max Martin and Shellback, pairing her sharpest storytelling with their high-gloss, hit-making touch.
Hours before The Life of a Showgirl officially dropped, all 12 tracks leaked online in low-quality audio across Discord and other platforms
The record marks a major milestone for Swift: her first as an engaged woman, following Kelce’s proposal in August 2025
Alongside the music, Swift unveiled a daring new visual aesthetic, embodying a sultry Vegas showgirl for the album’s imagery.Â
The title itself, she revealed, was inspired by her days juggling her record-breaking Eras Tour, which spanned 21 months, and late-night studio sessions in Sweden.
‘I would do like three shows in a row, have three days off, fly to Sweden, go back to tour — I was physically exhausted but so mentally stimulated,’ Swift recalled on her husband-to-be’s New Heights Podcast over the summer. ‘I was just so excited to be creating.’Â
In August, Kelce teased to his listeners that he couldn’t stop ‘listening to this album’ and had ‘been dancing throughout the house’ to it.Â
‘I know she mentioned that it’s gonna be a lot more pop beats, but it’s just still so poetic in her melodies and her references and stuff,’ he assured Swifties. ‘It’s just so much fun to listen to.’Â
He also gushed his favorite track was Opalite.Â
Kelce was reportedly only one of five people who have been granted access to the new album which has been kept under wraps in an encrypted folder.
Others include Swift’s formidable publicist Tree Paine, an unidentified studio engineer, and Max Martin and Shellback who both helped to produce the music.
Within minutes, Swifties were dissecting every verse, from the scathing to the swoon-worthy, to decode if she was singing about her fiancé or rumored industry rivals like Charli XCX (seen in 2014)
The Life of a Showgirl follows Swift’s 2024 record, The Tortured Poets Department, which shattered records before it was even released
In August, Kelce teased he couldn’t stop ‘listening to this album’ and had ‘been dancing throughout the house’ to it
The Life of a Showgirl follows Swift’s 2024 record, The Tortured Poets Department, which shattered records before it was even released.Â
Last month, Swift announced she was having a theatrical release party to celebrate her record, which will play across 540 AMC theaters this weekend.Â
Fans will see the exclusive world premiere of the Fate of Ophelia music video, plus behind-the-scenes footage, lyric videos and personal insights from Swift herself.
The special theatrical release is slated to be 89 minutes long.Â
It is expected to rake in around $30-$50million, per Deadline – and presale tickets reached $15 million over the span of 24 hours since the event’s announcement.
Ticket prices sit at $12 – which was decided by the award-winning performer herself.
