What Zach Bryan said about Taylor Swift, prompting an apology: 'Twitter gets me in trouble too much'

Country singer Zach Bryan has deleted his X account, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, after widespread criticism on a post about Taylor Swift and Kanye West.

On Wednesday, Sept. 18, Bryan a posted three-prong message on X , saying, “eagles > chiefs," and, "Kanye > Taylor.” He ended his post with: "who’s with me."

Afterwards, Swift fans quickly flocked to her defense on Bryan's post.

The backlash was seemingly enough to drive Bryan away from X. Bryan's Instagram, though, is still active.

Swifties interpreted the first part of the post as a diss at Swift's boyfriend Travis Kelce, the tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Kanye West mention is also sensitive for Swift fans — the rapper infamously interrupted Swift onstage at the 2009 MTV VMAs, which kicked off years of "Bad Blood" between fanbases.

West has also received backlash over the past few years due to antisemitic comments and controversial behaviors. After suggesting slavery in America was a "choice" that black people made and endorsing Donald Trump, Ye lost fans and brand deals.

Bryan's post was quick to garner criticism from those who are pro-Swift or anti-West.

One user posted, "Literally anyone else > Zach Bryan."

Bryan turned to Instagram on Thursday to apologize for the post.

What did Zach Bryan say about why he deleted X?

On Thursday morning, Bryan posted on his Instagram story to explain the X post through a series of messages.

Bryan shared Swift's song "Fortnight" with Post Malone on his Instagram, saying, "for the record guys I wasn't coming for Taylor the other night. 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," he continued.

"Hope one day I can explain this to her. 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!

Zach Bryan apologizes for Taylor Swift post: 'I respect her so much as a musician'

Under a post of Swift's song "The Albatross," Bryan said, "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 is people thinking I don't appreciate and love what she has done for music," he continued. "Okay, that's the last of it! Love you guys and hope you understand. Don't drink and tweet. Don't drink and tweet!!"

That post was not, in fact, the last of it.

In another Instagram post, Bryan said, "Not saving face here, but Taylor has been a force of nature for as long as we've all been growing up and I admire that. I'm gonna go listen to this record now," he added, referring to "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)."

"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 continued.

In a final post, he said, "This year has been an awful lot on me in personal ways that no one knows and I've been trying to cope and balance too many things at once."

He wrapped up by saying, "Not taking it for granted and holding onto it has been so important to me. Okay, needed to get this off my chest, yall are the best and I'll see you at Bourbon and Beyond."

The singer will take the stage on Saturday at the Louisville, Kentucky music festival.

Audrey Gibbs is a music reporter at The Tennessean. You can reach her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What did Zach Bryan say about Taylor Swift prompting Instagram apology