https://www.tumblr.com/todayisdeadinside/787315918875344896/the-music-industry-is-fucked-up-groucho-club?source=share
Hey, I just want to understand something: There's a high possibility h knows about what the Azoff have done, who they know and how they truly are (especially Irving and Shelle), why do you think he is still "friends" with them or something?
F.e., when Shelle was accused of SA, I think he was seen with her to clean her image. I'm not sure about this tho.
well, he's not friends with them, he's contracted to them. so, there's that to keep in mind. there's also the fact that harry was scouted by jeff azoff since 2013, when he was only 19, and he signed to them in 2016, meanwhile the shelli SA allegations both occurred and came out years later, i wanna say 2022-23 is the timeline there.
i think, given how isolated harry was in 1D without access to unbiased legal advice and whatnot, its very likely he didnt know about the darker side of the azoffs when he signed to them shortly after the hiatus. im sure hes since learned, but obviously he's still stuck with them.
there was that one interview where harry discussed feeling free for the first time when he signed his new post-band contracts. given the fact he is very much not free, its safe to say he was definitely lied to and manipulated so he'd sign where sony wanted him to sign. by the time he found out about the dark side of the azoffs, he was likely already tied up in contracts with them. similarly with signing to columbia, which is owned by sony the same way syco was.
hes no less trapped, but at the time of signing, he didnt know that would be the case.
shitty people harry associates with for contractual or work reasons are people who he was lied to about when he signed those contracts. people he likely knows are shitty now, too late. i find it important to give harry grace for making the best out of a situation he's very stuck in.
he's often placed around people his managing companies have loyalties to when they need their image cleaned up a bit- like his recent pap walks with JC and BW. harry is used as a prop to benefit other clients under the same companies, since he's the golden boy.
