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Zach Bryan has apologized for “drunkenly” tweeting about his preference for Kanye West over Taylor Swift and appears to have deactivated his X account.
On Tuesday (September 19), the country superstar tweeted: “eagles > chiefs, Kanye > Taylor, who’s with me.”
The first part of the since-deleted tweet was taken to be a veiled dig at Swift who is currently dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Meanwhile, West has faced widespread criticism in recent years over a slew of anti-semitic tirades. He and Swift also have a checkered history since West famously interrupted the pop star during her acceptance speech for Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV VMAs to decry her victory over Beyoncé.
In another since-deleted tweet, Bryan followed up by saying: “Guys I love Taylor, was listening to TTPD [The Tortured Poets Department] last night and ‘thanK you aIMee’ came on and I drunkenly tweeted that about Kanye. If anyone took it serious please know I love both artists a lot and think we’re in a really beautiful time of music.”
“thanK you aIMee” is widely seen as a diss track against Kim Kardashian after the reality star publicly branded the singer a liar in defence of her then-husband West.
Bryan’s X page now reads: “This account does not exist,” though, a deactivated account can be reinstated within 30 days.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday, Bryan shared a more fulsome explanation of his controversial tweet.
“For the record guys I wasn’t coming for Taylor the other night,” Bryan 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 know guys know I’m human and tweet stupid things often,” Bryan continued. “Hope one day I can explain this to her.”
He wrote that “it’s best” that he stay off X and said he was going through “a hard time” in his life and was “projecting a little” with his tweet.
“To be completely honest it just came off as rude and desensitized to Taylor,” he wrote. “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.”
He finished by writing, “Don’t drink and tweet!!”
The Independent has contacted Bryan’s representatives for further comment.
Earlier this week, Bryan provocatively tweeted: “Anyone willing to put politics above music don’t get the point of listening to music.”
Following the US presidential debate last week, Swift shared her endorsement for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
The “Cruel Summer” singer wrote on Instagram: “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.”
She added: “I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make.”
