The Moment
Sydney Sweeney and Scooter Braun did not choose a quiet, private dinner for date night. They chose a karaoke bar in Ventura, California, a Neil Diamond classic, and a very loud soft-focus showcase of their chemistry.
In a new video circulating online, the 28-year-old actress and the 44-year-old music power player are onstage, belting out “Sweet Caroline” together, leaning hard into the chorus and pulling the crowd in like it’s a stadium show. At one point, Sydney takes the mic solo for ABBA’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)”, jumping up and down with her hands in the air while the room cheers her on.
Sydney Sweeney and Scooter Braun sing their hearts out on romantic karaoke date https://t.co/QDHSoaGhUm pic.twitter.com/AdpsyLrkgI
— Page Six (@PageSix) February 18, 2026
This isn’t a one-off sighting. The pair have been photographed arm in arm in Brentwood this month, dressed in matching white tees and casual basics, and they were first publicly linked back in June 2025, when they both attended Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s lavish wedding.
Adding a little extra fuel to the “this is serious” narrative: Sydney’s mom, Lisa, was recently photographed hopping onto Braun’s private jet. Nothing says “we’re a thing” in celebrity language quite like family members on the plane.
The Take
I’m just going to say what everyone over 40 is thinking: this relationship is like a modern rom-com directed by a PR strategist. The karaoke, the private jet, the Bezos wedding cameo – if it were a movie, we’d say it was too on the nose.
On one hand, Sydney looks like she’s genuinely having fun. She’s a performer, he’s a music industry guy, of course their date night is basically a live show. And there’s something almost disarmingly normal about a beautiful, very famous woman screaming along to “Sweet Caroline” in a bar full of strangers. That’s the most relatable thing either of them has done in ages.
On the other hand, this is Scooter Braun – a man whose entire career is built on managing images, building narratives, and turning talent into brands. It’s hard not to see this pairing through that lens. When your boyfriend is a veteran manager and you’re one of Hollywood’s most in-demand young actresses, every “casual” moment starts to feel like a campaign.
It also bumps up against Sydney’s own recent words. In a magazine profile not long ago, she painted a very clear picture of herself: “I am a boss in my life. I take control. I go after what I want. I’m confident, and I’m successful, and I don’t actually need a man.” She talked about having a circle of “badass” women and wanting a partner who can stand in that with her – athletic, outgoing, funny, and deeply family-oriented.

If you take her at face value, that actually tracks. A woman can proudly say she doesn’t need a man and still very much want one – especially one who can keep up with a skydiving, mountain-climbing, career-obsessed life. The “don’t need a man” quote wasn’t an oath of eternal singledom; it was a boundary.
But when the man in question is 16 years older, wildly powerful, and already famous in his own right, it raises real questions about power dynamics. Is this a love story between equals, or does it start to look like what happens when your work mentor steps right into the boyfriend slot? Publicly, they’re selling “fun, sporty, loud, in love.” Underneath, there’s a more complicated conversation about age gaps, influence, and who actually holds the reins.
The whole thing feels like watching a duet where one person has the mic, and the other quietly runs the soundboard. Cute? Sure. Simple? Not even a little.
Receipts
Confirmed:
- Sydney Sweeney, 28, and Scooter Braun, 44, were filmed on a karaoke date in Ventura, California, singing Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” together and interacting with the crowd, in video circulated online in mid-February 2026.
- Sweeney also performed ABBA’s “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)” solo during the same night, jumping and dancing with the audience.
- The pair have been photographed together multiple times in early 2026, including walking arm in arm in Brentwood, California, in casual outfits.
- Sweeney’s mother, Lisa, was photographed boarding Braun’s private jet in recent days.
- Sweeney and Braun were first publicly linked after both attended Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s June 2025 wedding.
- In a widely circulated recent magazine interview, Sweeney described herself as a “boss” who doesn’t “actually need a man,” and said she wants a partner who is athletic, outgoing, funny, and family-oriented.
Unverified / Interpretation:
- That Sweeney and Braun are officially labeling each other boyfriend/girlfriend; outlets and observers describe them as a couple based on repeated public outings.
- The idea that Sydney’s parents “approve” of Braun; what’s confirmed is her mother’s presence on his jet, which is being interpreted as endorsement.
- Any specific timeline of when the relationship turned romantic beyond their overlapping appearance at the 2025 Bezos-Sanchez wedding.
Backstory (For Casual Readers)
If you know Sydney Sweeney as “the girl from that edgy HBO show” and Scooter Braun as “the guy from the Taylor Swift drama,” you’re already halfway there.
Sweeney broke out playing troubled teens on television and has since become a full-fledged movie star, headlining romantic comedies and action projects while carefully building a “sexy but relatable, hard-working” brand. Braun, meanwhile, is one of the most famous managers in music, known for guiding careers like Justin Bieber’s and Ariana Grande’s, and for his very public business clash with Taylor Swift over her early master recordings. He’s older, deeply connected, and extremely experienced at turning relationships – professional and otherwise – into narratives the public can follow.
The two moving in the same high-powered circles (think billionaire weddings and coastal getaways) make perfect sense. The fact that they’ve gone from shared guest lists to shared karaoke mics is just the latest chapter.
What’s Next
From here, there are a few predictable stops on the Celebrity Couple Express:
- Red carpet test: Watch for them to attend a major premiere, awards show, or fashion event together, not just “happening to leave the same restaurant.” That’s when a relationship goes from gossip item to capital-O Official.
- Instagram era: So far, most of the story has been told through paparazzi lenses and grainy video. A soft-launch selfie or a cheeky Story from either of them would move things into a new, more controlled phase.
- Career overlap: Given Braun’s background, it’s fair to keep an eye on whether he pops up around Sydney’s future projects – executive producing, consulting, or just being very present behind the scenes.
- The narrative pivot: If the public conversation leans too hard into age-gap and power-dynamic criticism, expect some sort of subtle response – a carefully worded interview, a “we’re just having fun” quote, or a story that emphasizes how independent and in control Sydney is.
For now, though, they’re writing their story at full volume, over a karaoke backing track, in front of a very willing audience. Whether you read it as a genuine, slightly chaotic romance or a savvy alignment of brands probably says as much about you as it does about them.
Your turn: When you see Sydney and Scooter’s karaoke date, do you read it as cute and harmless, or does the age-and-power mix make the whole thing feel off to you?
Sources: Celebrity news report published February 18, 2026; widely shared karaoke video posted by an entertainment site on February 17, 2026; Sweeney’s comments from a women’s lifestyle magazine profile in early 2026.

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