“It’s important that women and men aren’t fearful about coming forward”: Scooter Braun

Music manager Scooter Braun has issued a callout to the music industry following a slew of sexual harassment allegations sweeping Hollywood, and now the record business.

In an open letter (below), Braun says there is too much focus on “celebrating the playboy” and proposes we come together to “change our status quo”.

Braun also points to family men like billionaire boss and Virgin founderRichard Branson, former Walt DisneychairmanJeffrey Katzenberg and Universal Music head honcho,Lucian Grange, as ideal role models for the next generation. “It’s never been such a good time to be a good guy,” he wrote.

His words follow another week of new accusations that shocked some or confirmed what many already knew.

Hip-hop mogul and Def Jam Recordings co-founderRussell Simmonsisthe latestrecord executive to be accused of sexual assault. He has since responded to the claims made by modelKeri Claussen Khalighi, inferring he’s a changed man.

“I have made choices that have offended some of the women in my life,”Simmonswrote in a statementforHollywood Reporter.

“It’s not cool to be a playboy and a new consciousness understands this.”

In a recentpodcast interview with Recode Media, editor at large for the Hollywood Reporter,Kim Masters,said more notable men inside the music industrymay soon be exposed by her publication and Billboard.

ReadBraun’s open letter in full here:

“When I came into the business, that behavior wasn’t surprising.

If you were a male executive, people assumed: fast cars, fast women. And that always bothered me, because when I found out who Richard Branson really was — married for over 38 years, faithfully, with two kids that he loves — and Jeffrey Katzenberg is a family man, and Lucian Grange is a family man, why does no one know this? Why are we celebrating the playboy? Why are we celebrating talking about who got laid?

It’s hard for me to understand because I’m not that dude. I was raised by an empowered woman. I married an empowered woman. If anything like that ever happened to my wife, I’d probably kill somebody. No one in my company is that guy either. But I think it’s extremely important that we put a light on this. It’s important that women and men aren’t fearful about coming forward.

I want our industry to demand that we investigate this stuff and find out the truth and make sure that people are held 100% accountable, because there’s no place for it. We need to change our status quo.

Let’s start by acknowledging people who have balance and live their life with class, and not make it something that a 20-year-old newcomer to the industry doesn’t know about. Let’s give them something to aspire to. It’s never been such a good time to be a good guy.”