Zach Bryan Apologizes for 'Drunkenly' Tweeting He Prefers Kanye West to Taylor Swift

Backlash from the Swifties caused Bryan to deactivate his X account.

September 19, 2024
Zach Bryan, Taylor Swift, Kanye West
Getty/Kevin Mazur/Gotham/KZLLC/Bauer-Griffin

Zach Bryan is backtracking his comments about favoring Kanye West over Taylor Swift.

On Tuesday, the country singer took to X, writing, “Eagles > chiefs. Kanye > Taylor. Who’s with me?”

That tweet didn’t go over well with Swifties. The backlash prompted Bryan to issue a follow-up tweet on Wednesday, saying he “drunkenly” made the remarks while listening to Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department album cut, “Thank You Aimee,” which takes aim at Kim Kardashian and her ex-husband, Ye.

“Guys I love Taylor, was listening to TTPD last night and thank you aimee came on and I drunkenly tweeted about Kanye,” Bryan tweeted on Wednesday, per Rolling Stone. “If anyone took it serious please know I love both artists a lot and think we’re in a really beautiful time of music.”

Bryan’s X account was deactivated as of Thursday morning. He also took to his Instagram Story to explain himself further.

“For the record guys I wasn’t coming for Taylor the other night,” he wrote, soundtracked by Swift’s Post Malone-featuring song “Fortnight. “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.”

He then seemingly addressed his X deactivation: “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 another Story post, this one accompanied by Swift’s “The Albatross,” Bryan continued, “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 people thinking I don’t appreciate and love what she has done for music.”

In two additional Stories, he applauded Swift for being “a force of nature for as long as we’ve all been growing up and I admire that.” He also said he’s taking “a breather” from tweeting and is instead focusing on his tour. “Don't drink and tweet!!” he warned.