Earlier this week, Zach Bryan posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Eagles > Chiefs Kanye > Taylor who’s with me.” Bryan explained that he wasn’t trying to demean Taylor Swift and “drunkenly tweeted about Kanye,” but the backlash still caused him to deactivate his X account. As of this writing, Bryan’s X account remains deactivated, but he further explained himself across several Instagram Story posts on Thursday, September 19.
“For the record guys I wasn’t coming for Taylor the other night,” Bryan wrote in his first post, which also showed Swift’s “Fortnight” featuring Post Malone. “I was drunkenly comparing two records, and it came out wrong. I know there’s a lot of stuff that clouds around Ye, and I was speaking purely musically. I love Taylor’s music and pray you guys know I’m human and tweet stupid things often. Hope one day I can explain this to her. Twitter gets me in trouble too much, and I’d say it’s best I stay off it. I’m sorry to any Taylor fans I pissed off or let down. Love you guys and I’m trying my best!”
Bryan’s following post was soundtracked by Swift’s “The Albatross.” He wrote, “I’ve been going through a hard time in my own life, and I think I was projecting a little. To be completely honest, it just came off as rude and desensitized to Taylor. I respect her so much as a musician that the last thing I want is people thinking I don’t appreciate and love what she has done for music. Okay, that’s the last of it! Love you guys and hope you guys understand. Don’t drink and tweet. Don’t drink and tweet!!”
That was not the last of it.
Bryan posted again — this time, to the tune of Swift’s “Castles Crumbling (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault]” featuring Hayley Williams. He wrote, “Not saving face here, but Taylor has been a force of nature for as long as we’ve all been growing up, and I admire that. I’m gonna go listen to this record now. I never want people to think I have a hint of malice or meanness towards anyone, ever, that’s why I’m saying all this. Everyone have the best day of all time, I love ya.”
One more time!
Bryan’s final of this four-post Instagram Story string reads:
“This year has been an awful lot on me in personal ways that no one knows, and I’ve been trying to cope and balance too many things at once. So I’m going to take a breather from tweeting stupid stuff, finish my tour, and ground myself somehow in the midst of all this. I feel very, very blessed each day.
Not taking it for granted and holding onto it has been so important to me. Okay, needed to get this off my chest, y’all are the best and I’ll see you at Bourbon & Beyond.”
Bryan is headlining Bourbon & Beyond at Highland Festival Grounds in Louisville, Kentucky this Saturday, September 21.
See all of Bryan’s upcoming tour dates here.