Country music star Zach Bryan posted a series of Instagram stories Thursday morning apologising for a tweet he had sent days earlier in which he suggested he liked Kanye West more than West’s longtime foe Taylor Swift, which angered some of Swift’s dedicated fans on social media.
Bryan also deactivated his X account. (Photo by Keith Griner/Getty Images)
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Key Takeaways
- Bryan also deactivated his X account after he posted “eagles > chiefs, kanye > taylor, who’s with me” on Tuesday night, which Swifties took as a dig at both Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
- Before Bryan deactivated his account, he clarified on X that he was listening to “Thank You Aimee,” a song from Swift’s latest album widely interpreted to be about her feud with West and Kim Kardashian, and “drunkenly” made the post.
- Bryan said he “wasn’t coming for Taylor” in an Instagram story Thursday, stating he loves Swift’s music and understands the “stuff that clouds around Ye,” possibly referring to West’s history of erratic behavior and various controversial and antisemitic comments the rapper has made.
- Bryan apologized to both Swift, stating he hopes he can “explain” to her one day what he meant, and to “any Taylor fans I pissed off or let down.”
- Bryan said he has been “going through a hard time in my own life,” and said he will take a break from “tweeting stupid stuff” while he finishes his tour.
- Three of Bryan’s four Instagram stories addressing his Swift tweet are set to a different Swift song: “Fortnight” with Post Malone, “The Albatross” and “Castles Crumbling” with Hayley Williams.
Surprising Fact
Bryan has previously praised Swift on social media. Hours before her album “Midnights” released in 2022, Bryan tweeted: “miss swift what are the vibes at midnight good morning everybody and happy almost sweekend [sic], get in we’re going crying.” A fan asked what his favorite Swift song was, to which Bryan responded: “‘August,’ for sure,” adding his girlfriend asks him to cover her song “Tim McGraw.”
Chief Critics
Swift’s fans quickly jumped to her defense on social media, with some expressing confusion about why Bryan posted a critical tweet after having praised her in the past. Some invoked a lyric from her song “I Did Something Bad:” “If a man talks sh*t, then I owe him nothing.” Others criticized Bryan for deactivating his account in response to criticism.
Key Background
Bryan’s controversial tweet references the long-running feud between Swift and West, which took off in 2009 after West interrupted Swift onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards and declared Beyoncé should have won the best female video award.
The feud has periodically reignited, including a bitter dispute over whether Swift actually gave West permission to refer to Swift as a “bitch” in his song “Famous,” and both artists have addressed the other in various songs.
Bryan’s post also references the football rivalry between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles—the two teams faced off in the Super Bowl in 2023, with the Chiefs winning 38-35. Until Jason Kelce retired from the Eagles earlier this year, the teams also had a sibling rivalry.
Tangent
Bryan has emerged as one of the most successful country artists in recent years. Last year, his album “American Heartbreak” ranked as the third-biggest country album on the year-end Billboard charts, behind two Morgan Wallen albums and ahead of Swift’s “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and “Red (Taylor’s Version).” Swift fended off a challenge from Bryan on the Billboard 200 earlier this year, as her “Tortured Poets Department” album notched a 12th week at No. 1 ahead of Bryan’s newest album, “The Great American Bar Scene,” which peaked at No. 2.
