Azoffs' hand in everything concerning Harry Styles' public life: Jeffrey Azoff
[The post contains references to information covered in the previous one*, so I recommend reading it to get a clearer picture]
Harry's manager who looks more like a jailer than a babysitter. He is always present at his side, on public or "private" occasions, spreading the idea that the two are linked by a relationship of deep friendship rather than professional. But is it really like this? Or is it a subtle ploy to keep the star tied down?
Family photo of Harry with the Azoff clan
Jeff, born in 1982, the eldest son of Irving and Shelli Azoff, began his career at his father's Front Line Management, where he worked for five years before moving, in 2012, to CAA, one of the biggest management agencies, which allows him to significantly expand his network of useful relationships. It's noteworthy that the CAA's reputation isn't exactly spotless. It has been accused of blacklisting anyone who did or said things contrary to the agency's wishes, and, even more seriously, it was implicated in the cover-up of the Weinstein scandal, for which it was suspected of procuring actresses. Azoff left CAA in 2016 to found Full Stop Management, taking with him Tommy Bruce, who is still a key figure in managing Harry. Actresses Olivia Wilde and Zoë Kravitz are both represented by CAA, and listed as Harry Styles' former and current relationships. Don't Worry Darling, the film directed by Wilde with Harry in the lead role, was produced and distributed by New Line Cinema, a subsidiary of Warner Bros, with whose management the Giant Company founded by Irving Azoff collaborates closely. For the few who don't know, Zoë is the daughter of rock star Lenny Kravitz, who was represented by Howard Kaufman, Azoff's longtime partner at Front Line, from his beginning until the manager's passing.
There is no official confirmation but more than one rumour claims that Azoff Sr, through his companies that manage arenas and venues, has also established solid business relationships in the fashion sector, for example by managing the locations of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Since the beginning of the friendship/collaboration between Jeffrey and Harry Styles, the singer has been attributed numerous flirtations or relationships with models linked to the Victoria's Secret brand, never directly confirmed by Harry (with one exception). Furthermore, the Azoff Company also owns DBA, a management company for influencers, digital creatives and fashion bloggers, carrying out partnerships with famous brands.
The previously mentioned relationship with the Azoff family friend, Kendall Jenner*, is joined by a very brief one with Nadine Leopold* and a more trumpeted one with Camille Rowe*, the only one vaguely confirmed by Harry during an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music to promote the album Fine Line. More flirtation rumors with models Georgia Fowler, Sara Sampaio, Candice Swanepoel and Cara Delevingne. In 2020, through his personal stylist Harry Lambert, begins the friendly collaboration with Jonathan Anderson, creative head of the luxury brand Loewe. Shortly after, the fleeting encounter, complete with a kiss in a Tokyo parking lot, with Emily Ratajkowski, a model linked to the brand, and above all, yet another relationship, with the actress Taylor Russell*, brand ambassador for Loewe, exploded in the tabloids. (*links to related posts)
The current wife of Jeffrey is Glenne Christiaansen Azoff. She began dating Jeff between 2014 and 2015, became officially engaged in 2020, and then married in January 2021, in a ceremony at a California ranch, so "private" that photos of Harry as a guest/best man/officiant were suddenly splashed across all the tabloids. The event served as a public hard launch for Harry and Olivia Wilde's* rising (stunt) relationship. Glenne worked for Snap Inc., a big technology company, from 2015 to 2018 as global head of music partnerships. She was later hired by Apple Music to manage relations with the artists, then becoming head of artist services. We recall that it was to Apple Music that Harry gave the interview in which he confirmed his relationship, already over, with the model Camille Rowe, during the promotion of the album Fine Line in 2019, which everyone indicated was dedicated to the model. Perhaps not everyone knows that Zane Lowe, the author of the interview and a well-known DJ, had just signed with Full Stop Management at the time. He later had the privilege of conducting the launch interviews for Harry's next two albums.
Harry interviewed by Zane Lowe for Apple Music in 2019
Even the locations or events that over the years have been the scene of Harry's celebrated public appearances in the company of whoever was indicated as his girlfriend of the moment were closely linked to the Azoff universe. In addition to the clubs and restaurants in Malibu and Los Angeles owned by Gerber, a friend and business partner of the Azoffs, where he was often photographed in "sweet company", which usually included Jeff, almost every (stunt) relationship was marked by the "happy couple's" participation in a major Azoff-branded event.
In January 2014, Harry attended the Eagles show in Los Angeles with Kendall Jenner, who was listed as his date at the time, and other Kardashians. In the following years, he attended an Eagles show on two more occasions, in September 2018 in Los Angeles with the Crawford-Gerber family and in June 2019 in London with Niall Horan (periods in which he was officially single).
The Azoff artist with whom Harry has formed the deepest bonds is definitely Stevie Nicks. Rumour has it that Harry and Stevie first met after a Fleetwood Mac concert in London in May 2015, when young Harry brought the singer a carrot cake for her birthday. In July 2017, Fleetwood Mac's show in New York was the scene of the launch of the (stunt) relationship between Harry and model Camille Rowe. In the following years there were other public meetings, especially with Nicks, performances together, notable the introduction of Stevie Nicks into the Rock'n'roll Hall of Fame by Harry in 2019. I have no doubt that Harry is a genuine fan of the band and Stevie in particular but fate has been truly benevolent in ensuring that his heroine is represented and a long-time friend of his friendly manager's father.
One of the latest was U2's event show at the Sphere in Las Vegas in November 2023, which Harry publicly attended in the company of actress Taylor Russell, indicated at the time as his partner. Two birds with one stone, in this case. U2 were one of the most recent high-profile signings on the Full Stop Management roster and the venue is owned by MSG Company.
Harry performing at Coachella Festival in 2022
Also very interesting is the connection between Harry, Azoff and the Coachella Festival. The singer performed at the Festival in two shows on April 15 and 22, 2022, in the presence in the audience of actress Olivia Wilde, with whom he was involved in a highly publicized relationship at the time. The couple was also promptly photographed in those days attending Billie Eilish's performance at the festival. It is worth knowing that Azoff was one of the main investors and financiers of the Festival in its early days, when the organizers of the event were struggling financially, and he owns a property very close to where the Festival is held in Indio, California. Furthermore, Full Stop Management collaborates closely with the Festival by negotiating bookings and participations of leading artists. And finally, Oak View Group has actively contributed to building and expanding venues and infrastructure in the Coachella Valley, supporting the economy of the Festival itself.
It could therefore be assumed that the Azoffs understandably use the means at their disposal to promote Harry's work and, at the same time, use Harry, (stunt) relationships included, to promote their events and venues. In any case, it seems like there is anything that isn't planned to perfection.
Harry's hands for the launch of the Pleasing brand
The Azoffs' influence is easily visible in Harry's collateral economic activities too. Erskine Records, record label founded by Harry in 2016, just before signing with Columbia Records (under Rob Stringer's Sony Music), of which Harry is the owner and his assistant longtime Emma Spring is co-director, collaborates, or perhaps is managed by Giant Records, independent label division of The Azoff Company, and it was probably the Azoffs themselves who supported the opening of the label to accelerate Harry's independence from the previous record management. Pleasing is the primarily e-commerce cosmetics and lifestyle brand launched by Harry in November 2021, along with Harry Lambert and Emma Spring. Musician Mike Fleetwood and stylist Jonathan Anderson collaborated on the brand. Public reports suggest that Jeff holds a stake in the company alongside Harry. In reality, the trademark was registered by Emptyleg LP, the original corporate entity and holding company, owned by Jeff Azoff. Azoff later merged the trademarks and registrations into Pleasing, which was later renamed The Pleasing Company LP. Obviously these activities constitute an important economic income for Harry but they are still strictly linked to the Azoffs.
Even Harry's most publicized personal friendships show a connection to the Azoffs. This is the case of Xander Ritz*, a former lacrosse player with whom Harry was seen almost constantly between 2015 and 2016, before gradually decreasing their contact although they still remain "friends". It's known that it was Jeff Azoff who introduced the two in 2014, although it's not known how Ritz and the manager met. Since then, as mentioned, Ritz has been a regular public presence for years, along with his brother Maxwell and Jeff, at Harry's shows, dinners, parties and holidays. In 2016, the Ritz brothers founded The Loyalist, a platform that develops and manages e-commerce for brands, including Pleasing.
An honorable mention goes to Harry's fifteen-year friendship with British actor and TV presenter James Corden. History tells us that their friendship dates back to the period immediately after X Factor when the actor, who had briefly met Louis' mother years before, took on the task of looking after the boys as an older brother. The friendship with the boys continued throughout the years of the band and, especially with Harry, it still exists today and seems sincere. But Corden has also developed a close friendship with Jeff Azoff, and has participated in celebratory events in honor of Irving Azoff. CBS, the network that has broadcast his Late Late Show in the US since 2015, also has several ties with Azoff, especially in using his management network to create entertainment programs. Furthermore, the British PR agency Dawbell, which handles both Corden and Harry in the UK, works closely with Full Stop Management.
Harry with James Corden and Ben Winston on set of Late Late Show
And directly connected to Corden is the figure of Ben Winston, another long-time friend of Harry. The son of a prominent British scientist and Orthodox Jewish aristocrat, Winston is an influential TV producer and director in the UK and US. He has worked with One Direction since their inception, producing the band's documentaries and shows and later for solo Harry, with whom he has always declared himself a super close friend. He has been a personal friend of Corden since well before the 1D period and has produced all of the actor's shows, and Corden is also a partner in his production company, Fulwell 73. Finally, he produced the latest Seven seasons of the Kardashian reality show.
All of them, whether they are true friends or just pretended ones, are in any case a fundamental part of the group of people who support Harry publicly and who in some way, collaborating with the Azoff strategies, contribute to building or influencing his public image.
Louis&Harry in their happy fetus era
Azoff's conditioning over Harry involves, to a degree we can only assume, Louis Tomlinson as well. Louis has been under the direct and indirect control of Simon Cowell and Syco/Modest for a long time. Now, since 2021, he has been signed to BMG (Bmg Rights Management), a music company born out of a joint venture with Sony, which still handles its distribution in many countries, and which has collaborated closely with Azoff's Giant Records since the 90s. Lenny Kravitz (yes, him again!) is also a BMG artist.
Probably even more surprising are the connections between Azoff and Louis's pseudo-romantic life. Briana Jungwirth, the woman who is publicly acknowledged as the mother of Louis's son (won't go into the merits but the story is rather controversial and unpleasant), grew up in Calabasas, the Kardashians' main place of residence and the set of their reality shows, where her family still resides, gravitating toward the gilded world of popular reality TV stars. In fact, in 2020, she herself had a brief relationship with Brody Jenner, son of Bruce and half-brother of the Jenner sisters, who is also very active in reality shows. Is it necessary to remind how close the bond between the Azoffs and the Kardashians is? Even Louis' current (stunt) relationship bears a consistent trace of connection to Azoff. One of Harry's closest contacts at Full Stop Management, along with Jeff and Tommy Bruce, is manager Tom Skoglund, in whose company Harry has often been photographed over the years even on "private" occasions such as group holidays with friends. Skoglund is a close friend and confidant of Jade Bell, a model and stuntwoman, who is listed as one of Zara McDermott's best friends, British influencer and television personality who is publicly known as Louis's "girlfriend".
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Summing up, what can we deduce? That Harry, and consequently Louis, are not simply bound by restrictive contracts. They are trapped within a secure pyramid structure headed by father and son Azoff. A pyramid carefully constructed over decades, formed by business, power, friendships and family relationships. The artist is a "tool" that allows for increased prestige and economic power. He must be nurtured and protected to the extent that he remains profitable, also using control and manipulation when necessary. And it's absolutely unacceptable that one of these "tools", however valuable he may be, becomes dangerous to the stability of the pyramid.
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