Zach Bryan has decided to deactivate his Twitter/X account after making headlines for a drunken tweet where he expressed a preference for Kanye West over Taylor Swift. He took to Instagram on Thursday morning to clarify his comments and make amends.
The controversy began on Tuesday night when Bryan, an ardent supporter of the Philadelphia Eagles, tweeted, “eagles > chiefs Kanye > Taylor who’s with me?” This sparked a swift backlash from Taylor Swift’s fans, known as Swifties. The criticism prompted him to later explain that his tweet, influenced by listening to Swift’s song “Thank You Aimee,” was made in a state of inebriation.
“Guys I love Taylor, was listening to TTPD last night and thank you aimee came on and I drunkenly tweeted about Kanye,” Bryan clarified in a follow-up tweet. “If anyone took it serious please know I love both artists a lot and think we’re in a really beautiful time of music.”
Despite his explanation, Bryan quickly deactivated his Twitter/X account, which remained inactive as of Thursday morning.
However, his Instagram account is still operational. In his Stories, he posted a lengthy statement along with an audio clip of Swift’s “Fortnight” to address the situation.
“For the record guys I wasn’t coming for Taylor the other night,” he wrote. “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 to her.”
Regarding his decision to leave Twitter, Bryan noted, “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!”
In additional Instagram Stories on Thursday, he continued to commend Swift, describing her as “a force of nature for as long as we’ve all been growing up,” and confirmed his break from Twitter/X. “I’m going to take a breather from tweeting stupid stuff, finish my tour, and ground myself somehow in the midst of all this.”
Bryan summed up his message with, “Don’t drink and tweet!!”