Wearing a men’s button-down shirt stamped with the titles of her first seven albums, Taylor Swift kicked off her American Music Awards performance with a reminder that her life’s work belongs to, as she wrote on Tumblr, “men who had no part in creating it.” And flanked by eight young girls wearing shirts identical to hers, Swift sent a message that the female artists of the future are watching.
Ten days before the AMAs, where Swift was honored as Artist of the Decade, she didn’t know if she’d be able to perform a medley of her hit songs as she planned.
In a social media statement, Swift accused music industry tycoon Scooter Braun, who purchased most of Swift’s master recordings in June, and Scott Borchetta, head of her former record label, of prohibiting her from singing the songs on TV that fall under their legal domain.
The statement is the latest in a highly public and messy battle between Swift and Braun and Borchetta.
