Pop star Justin Bieber is said to owe his former manager, Scooter Braun, nearly $9 million following a financial dispute that ended their longtime working relationship, according to a new documentary by TMZ.
The documentary, TMZ Investigates: What Happened to Justin Bieber? explores the singer’s recent financial troubles, mental health, marriage, and career decline.
According to the report, Bieber’s relationship with Braun broke down over money issues after the failure of his Justice World Tour in 2022.
Sources told TMZ that Bieber had received a \$40 million advance from concert promoter AEG before the tour. But when he abruptly cancelled the shows, he still owed AEG \$24 million.
To help him, Braun’s company, Hybe, reportedly stepped in to pay off the debt. Bieber then signed a 10-year repayment deal with Hybe but allegedly made only one payment before stopping.
While Bieber’s team believed Braun had taken too much money in commissions, claiming he was overpaid by $26 million, Hybe launched an internal review and said the opposite: that Bieber still owed Braun money.
Braun reportedly forgave an initial $1 million debt, but some close to Bieber believed the review was biased since Hybe was Braun’s company.
To clear any doubts, Hybe brought in global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers PwC to do an independent audit. After six months, PwC found that Bieber actually owed Braun $8.8 million in unpaid commissions. TMZ says it has seen the full audit report confirming this amount.
Bieber’s team reportedly did not deny the audit results, but said they also did their own financial review, though they have not shared their findings publicly.
The once-strong relationship between Bieber and Braun has now ended, with no signs of reconciliation. Braun discovered Bieber when the singer was just 13 and helped turn him into a global superstar.
