Zach Bryan has deactivated his Twitter/X account, following widespread backlash to a tweet he shared about Taylor Swift.
The country music star first deactivated his account last week, when he started a conversation by sharing an update reading: “Anyone willing to put politics above music don’t get the point of listening to music.”
Soon afterwards, he returned to the social media platform, and stirred the pot once more – this time taking aim at Taylor Swift.
Sharing a tweet on Tuesday (September 17), the singer-songwriter wrote: “Eagles > Chiefs” and “Kanye > Taylor,” before finishing off the update with: “Who’s with me?”
It seems likely that the first part of the tweet is a jab at Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce, who plays as the tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Kanye West mention is a nod to the long-running tension between the pop star and the controversial rapper.
Unsurprisingly, the post was quick to spark backlash from countless Swifties on the app, with many users responding to the update with remarks like “Literally anyone else > Zach Bryan.”
Literally anyone else > Zach Bryan. pic.twitter.com/8LWeYXoEMG
— Vic 🤍 MIAMI N2 🤍 (@getawaycarvic) September 18, 2024
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As the responses came in, Bryan attempted to backtrack on the initial post, confronting Swift fans by saying that he was actually a big fan of the singer.
“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,” he wrote.
“If anyone took it serious please know I love both artists a lot and think we’re in a really beautiful time of music,” he addendum before soon deactivating the account yet again.
zach bryan’s wrote us a whole essay 😭 pic.twitter.com/TmgEHiuopW
— tia⸆⸉🎀 (@youarein1ove2) September 19, 2024
Zach Bryan apologized to Taylor and swifties for his inappropriate tweet on IG. pic.twitter.com/GUL0lL5qf8
— TaylorSwiftPage (@swiftpage13) September 19, 2024
Zach Bryan has deactivated his Twitter (X) account. pic.twitter.com/DXA8u2tmgk
— Country Central (@CountryCentral) September 18, 2024
This isn’t the first time in recent days that Swifties have quickly come to the singer’s aid following comments made against her online.
Earlier this week, countless fans and famous faces took to their accounts to respond after Donald Trump shared that he “hates” her.
It came as Swift Swift broke her silence on the upcoming US elections last week (September 10), following the first debate between Kamala Harris and Trump. In an update shared with her 284million Instagram followers, she threw her support behind current Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee, as well as her vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz.
In the post, she championed Harris as a “steady-handed, gifted leader”, writing that she believes “we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos”. She signed off the post as Taylor Swift, “Childless Cat Lady”– a nod to a remark made by JD Vance, Trump’s candidate for vice president, in 2021.
Already, it has been reported that her backing of Harris caused a “500 per cent” increase in voter registration, with nearly 500,000 registrants being directed from Swift’s Instagram page. Shortly after, Walz made a nod to a track from Swift’s ‘Tortured Poet Department’ online, described himself as a “fellow cat owner” and started selling Swiftie-style friendship bracelets from the campaign merch store.
Star Wars legend Mark Hamill and Flavor Flav were among those who voiced their support for Swift amid Trumps comments. The former posted an update reading “#ILoveTaylorSwift”, while the latter also said he “loved” the singer, and called himself “King Swiftie”.
Stevie Nicks also shared a post that was reminiscent of Swift’s political update, speaking out about the election.
Describing Swift as her “friend”, the former Fleetwood Mac singer said: “Now is the time to research and choose the candidate that speaks to you and your beliefs.” Though Nicks stopped short of explicitly endorsing a candidate or party in her post, she did sign off in the same manner as Swift, writing: “Love, Stevie Nicks, Childless Dog Lady.”
The presidential election is set to be held on November 5.