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Country singer Zach Bryan has deleted his account on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, after a post about Taylor Swift and Kanye West sparked heavy criticism.
On Wednesday, September 18, Bryan posted a three-part message on X that read: “Eagles > Chiefs” and “Kanye > Taylor.” He ended his post with, “Who’s with me?”
Swift fans then quickly flocked to defend her regarding Bryan’s post.
The backlash was apparently enough to drive Bryan away from X. However, Bryan’s Instagram is still active.
Swifties interpreted the first part of the post as an insult to Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce, the tight end of the Kansas City Chiefs.
The mention of Kanye West is also a sensitive topic for Swift fans – the rapper famously interrupted Swift onstage at the 2009 MTV VMAs, marking the beginning of years of “bad blood” between the fan base.
West has also faced backlash in recent years for anti-Semitic comments and controversial behavior. After claiming that slavery in America was a black “choice” and supporting Donald Trump, Ye lost fans and brand deals.
Bryan’s post quickly drew criticism from those who are for Swift or against West.
One user posted: “Literally everyone else > Zach Bryan.”
Bryan took to Instagram on Thursday to apologize for the post.
What did Zach Bryan say about why he deleted X?
On Thursday morning, Bryan posted a series of messages on his Instagram story to explain the X-post.
Bryan shared Swift’s song “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone on his Instagram, saying, “To the record people: I wasn’t here for Taylor the other day. I was drunk comparing two records and it came out wrong. I know there’s a lot of stuff floating around Ye and I was speaking purely musically.”
“I love Taylor’s music and pray you know that I am human and often tweet stupid things,” he continued.
“I hope to explain this to her one day. I get in trouble too much on Twitter and I’d say it’s best to stay out of it. I’m sorry to any Taylor fans I’ve upset or disappointed. I love you guys and I’m doing my best!
Zach Bryan apologizes for Taylor Swift post: “I respect her a lot as a musician”
Under a post about Swift’s song “The Albatross,” Bryan wrote: “I’ve been going through a rough time in my life and I think I was projecting a little bit. To be completely honest, it just came across as rude and desensitized to Taylor.”
“I respect her so much as a musician that I definitely don’t want people to think I don’t appreciate and love what she’s done for music,” he continued. “Okay, that’s it! I love you guys and hope you understand. Don’t drink and tweet. Don’t drink and tweet!!”
In fact, this post was not the last one.
In another Instagram post, Bryan said, “Not to save face here, but Taylor has been a force of nature since we were all growing up and I admire that. I’m going to listen to this record now,” he added, referring to “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).”
“I don’t want people to ever think that I’m even remotely evil or mean to anyone. That’s why I’m saying all this,” he continued.
In a recent post, he said: “This year has been very challenging for me personally, and no one knows how much, and I’ve been trying to juggle too many things at once and find balance.”
He concluded by saying, “It was so important to me not to take it for granted and to hold on to it. Okay, I had to get that off my chest, you guys are the best and I’ll see you at Bourbon and Beyond.”
The singer will take the stage at the music festival in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday.
Audrey Gibbs is a music reporter for The Tennessean. Reach her at [email protected].
