Country star Zach Bryan apologizes after 'drunken' Taylor Swift and Kanye West tweet

Zach Bryan may want to take a break from The Great American Bar Scene after he found himself in hot water for posting a 'drunken' tweet that appeared to show a preference for Kanye West over Taylor Swift.

Bryan, 28 - who deactivated his account on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday - sparked fury after posting: 'Eagles > Chiefs Kanye > Taylor who's with me.'

The tweet, shared on Tuesday night, takes aim at Swift, 34, in two parts; first by referencing her boyfriend, NFL tight end Travis Kelce, also 34, in saying the Philadelphia Eagles are better than the Kansas City Chiefs before seemingly taking aim at her music and referencing her fraught history with West, 47.  

The post was immediately met with fury, with the Pink Skies artist posting a lengthy apology to Instagram on September 19, claiming he 'drunkenly' compared the two artists, and it 'came out wrong.'

'For the record guys I wasn't coming for Taylor Swift,' Bryan, who hails from Oklahoma, began the four-part apology, posted to his Instagram stories, along with a screengrab of Taylor's song Fortnight with Post Malone. 

'I know there's a lot of stuff that clouds around Ye and I was speaking purely musically,' he continued. 'I love Taylor's music and pray you guys know I'm human and tweet stupid things often.'

Bryan then said he has made the decision to delete his X account as it gets him in 'trouble too much.'

'I'd say it's best I stay off it,' he shared. 'I'm sorry to any Taylor fans I pi**ed off or let down. Love you guys and I'm trying my best!'

In the next slide, which featured the Grammy-award winning artist's song The Albatross, Bryan admitted he was going through a hard time at the moment, and was 'projecting a little.'

'To be completely honest, it just came off as rude and desensitized to Taylor,' he acknowledged.

'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.

'Don’t drink and tweet. Don’t drink and tweet!!'

Bryan's apology didn't stop there, with the next slide, this time with Swift's song Castles Crumbling, featuring Hayley Williams, in the background, describing the Bad Blood singer as a 'force of nature.'

'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,' he said.

In the hitmaker's final message on Instagram, he admitted that 2024 had been rough in 'personal ways that no one knows,' adding he's 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,' he concluded.

'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 and Beyond.'

It's not the first time the country hitmaker has gotten into trouble over his social media posts.

Last month, he deactivated his Instagram after a fiery rant about parenting.

Bryan started posting his songs to YouTube in 2017, with his debut album DeAnn (dedicated and named after his late mother) released in 2019.

His second album Elisabeth and EP Quiet, Heavy Dreams debuted in 2020, before he signed with Warner Music in 2021.

His major label debut was 2022's American Heartbreak, which became a mainstream hit off the strength of his hit single Something In the Orange.

The song debuted at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts and ultimately peaked at #10, with the album debuting at #5 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

He released his self-titled album in August 2023, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, which contained his first #1 single - I Remember Everything with Kacey Musgraves.

His fifth album The Great American Bar Scene debuted in July, featuring guest artists such as John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen.