![\"\"](\"https:\/\/savingcountrymusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/zach-bryan-under-the-big-sky-1024x642.jpg\")
<\/div>\nSo once again we find ourselves in a situation where the public is being asked to judge the personal character of Zach Bryan, and potentially question their fandom after a couple of his fellow performers have come forward to accuse Bryan of basically not being the greatest of people. But it feels like there is a lot of nuance, and a lot of context missing from this situation, as is common in these instances. <\/p>\n
The latest accusations are not stemming from an arrest like they were in September of 2023 when Bryan was taken into custody<\/a><\/strong> in Vinita, Oklahoma as part of a routine traffic stop, which ultimately ended up being a big nothing burger<\/a><\/strong>. Zach Bryan was well within his rights to observe the traffic stop before getting booked on \u201cObstruction of Investigation\u201d charges. The most damaging part of that incident is Bryan was caught on camera basically doing the \u201cDon\u2019t you know who I am?\u201d thing, while at the same time trying to be conciliatory and respectful. <\/p>\n The latest accusations are also not stemming from a big breakup like they were when Zach ended his relationship with podcaster Brianna \u201cChickenfry\u201d LaPaglia\u2014who by the way, trades in celebrity gossip as a profession. Were there concerning accusations that came out<\/a><\/strong> in the dissolving of that relationship with LaPaglia? Absolutely. Has Brianna ever accused Zach Bryan of being physically abusive toward her, or any incidents of sexual assault or anything similar? Absolutely not.<\/p>\n Even the worst of the accusations boil down to \u201cbad boyfriend\u201d stuff about being moody and possessive. None of it looks good for Zach Bryan, but some, most, or all of the accusations are stuff that you could get most any ex-girlfriend to complain about from a former beau. There\u2019s also two sides to every story, and when it comes to the Chickenfry stuff, we\u2019ve only heard one side. <\/p>\n If you interviewed the ex-wives of Jason Isbell\u2014Shonna Tucker and Amanda Shires\u2014they would likely tell you things similar to what Zach Bryan\u2019s ex has said. In fact, in the promotion of Isbell\u2019s album Reunions, they used Isbell\u2019s rude behavior to Amanda Shires as the foundation for a New York Times spread<\/a> and an HBO documentary<\/a>. Somehow in those moments, Isbell\u2019s bad relationship behavior was portrayed as humanizing and erudite. <\/p>\n And by the way, ever since the revelations from Ms. Chickenfry came out, further revelations have come out about her. She\u2019s received criticism for allegedly dumping her best friend of 15 years and fellow podcast co-host Grace O\u2019Malley as soon as LaPaglia became super popular, in part due to the Zach Bryan relationship. Another co-worker named Kurt Minihane also has said<\/a> about Brianna, \u201c\u2026she\u2019s a repugnant human being \u2026 And everybody at [Basrstool Sports] hates her.\u201c<\/p>\n And let\u2019s all acknowledge that all of this is veering well into the realm of celebrity gossip and social media pot stirring, which should probably tell you the lack of severity behind the accusations. Zach Bryan\u2019s relationship with Brianna Chickenfry was a messy situation between two messy people. It\u2019s probably unfair to completely write off Zach Bryan over the matter. Brianna promised there was \u201cmore\u201d coming. That \u201cmore\u201d has never really materialized. <\/p>\n But the Zach Bryan revelations over the last week or so do not stem from any scandalous romantic relationship or a legal spat. They\u2019ve come out in the aftermath of Bryan re-signing with Warner Records for two more albums, and reportedly signing a massive $350 million publishing deal<\/a><\/strong>\u2014an unprecedented figure for an artist of Zach Bryan\u2019s age. For context, Bob Dylan sold his publishing catalog for $300 million.<\/p>\n The $350 million figure has inspired some anger, and some envy within the artist community. On Wednesday, May 7th, fellow Oklahoma songwriter John Moreland took to his Instagram story to post<\/a><\/strong>,\u00a0\u201c$350 M is a lot of money to pay for the fu\u2013in off-brand version of me. Y\u2019all have a great day.\u201d<\/p>\n For the record, John Moreland shortly deleted the post, but not before it had been screenshot and spread all over the internet. <\/p>\n Zach Bryan has regularly praised Moreland throughout his career, saying Moreland is \u201con a level all his own\u201d and \u201cprecise, deeply thoughtful, and truly monolithic.\u201d Moreland also appeared on Zach Bryan\u2019s song \u201cMemphis: The Blues\u201d from the 2024 album\u00a0The Great American Bar Scene. The song was Moreland\u2019s most-streamed track from his catalog.<\/p>\n Moreland was not the first beneficiary of a Zach Bryan guest spot. Sierra Ferrell and the song \u201cHoly Roller,\u201d and The War and Treaty collab \u201cHey Driver\u201d both are the top streaming songs from their respective catalogs thanks to Zach Bryan, with \u201cHey Driver\u201d now being Certified Platinum. Charles Wesley Godwin received a big boost from Bryan who took Godwin out on tour, and featured Godwin on the track \u201cJamie\u201d on his Summertime Blues EP in 2022. <\/p>\n Arguably Zach Bryan did more for the career of Kacey Musgraves than the entire country industry ever did, with their collaboration \u201cI Remember Everything\u201d now Certified Double Platinum, and receiving over 1 billion streams on Spotify alone. Noeline Hoffmann has a promising music career thanks to Zach Bryan covering her song \u201cPurple Gas.\u201d<\/p>\n But after John Moreland\u2019s Instagram story post got to Zach Bryan, he responded on May 9th saying, \u201cyooo just saw this from an artist I\u2019ve always respected and supported. Not trying to be dramatic but refuse to have anyone with a problem with me on my records. Replacing Memphis the Blues. If it goes down for a bit just know this is the reason!\u00a0No hard feelings! Confused as s**t, Tulsans look out for Tulsans!\u201d<\/p>\n This in turn had John Moreland posting another video to his Instagram story, saying that he didn\u2019t know who Zach Bryan was when Zach asked him to be on his record, only that he was a really big artist also from Oklahoma, and so he decided to accept. Moreland went on to say, <\/p>\n At this point I\u2019ve hung out with him five, six times. I don\u2019t like this motherfu\u2013er. Am I supposed to be upset? If I was asked to be on the album today I wouldn\u2019t do it. <\/p>\n I don\u2019t want to be on an album with a dude who is a dic-head to my wife and my friends right in front of me every time I see him. I don\u2019t want to be on an album with a dude who I\u2019ve heard tell borderline racist jokes more than once. I don\u2019t want to be on an album with a dude who brings a 19-year old girl in the bar, and then when they tell him she can\u2019t be in there, looks at me like I\u2019m supposed to have his fuc-ing back. I don\u2019t like that person.<\/p>\n That\u2019s who thinks I\u2019m an as-hole? Fine. As far as I\u2019m concerned, getting kicked off a Zach Bryan album is way fuc-ing cooler than being on a Zach Bryan album.<\/p>\n Is it disappointing to hear that Zach Bryan was allegedly rude to John Moreland\u2019s wife and friends? Sure it is. But again, there\u2019s two sides to every story, and the problem with these quotes is the same problem with the original quote from John Moreland, which is it comes in the aftermath of Zach\u2019s big payday, and Moreland now trying to save face after he came across as jealous. <\/p>\n If John Moreland didn\u2019t know who Zach Bryan was, why didn\u2019t he ask around and get a sense of Zach\u2019s character before he decided to collaborate with him? If Zach was so rude to Moreland\u2019s wife and friends, why did he hang out with Bryan five or six times? It\u2019s also a little bit hard to believe Moreland hadn\u2019t even heard of Zach Bryan before cutting a song with him, though maybe it\u2019s true. <\/p>\n But one of the reasons it\u2019s so hard to believe that John Moreland didn\u2019t know about Zach Bryan or his behavior until recently is Zach Bryan has been polarizing among his fellow performers for years, partly due to jealously, partly due to a sense that Bryan hopscotched the process due to his viral success, and partly stemming from Zach Bryan\u2019s own personal behavior, similar to the stuff alleged by Moreland. <\/p>\n In 2021, Zach Bryan played a pre-party show at the Born & Raised Festival in Pryor, Oklahoma, not far from Tulsa where John Moreland is based, and where Zach Bryan was raised in Oologah. This was right after Zach Bryan had quit the Navy, and right as his popularity was exploding. As reported by Saving Country Music at the time<\/a>, the reception for Zach Bryan was insane. <\/p>\n But even this early on, Saving Country Music heard chirping about how Zach Bryan and his entourage were stirring dissent among fellow artists backstage. Along with people feeling like he was getting too big in his britches too quickly, apparently Zach and his buddies stole someone\u2019s golf cart and went joy riding backstage, and raided the coolers of other performers when they ran out of complimentary beer provided by the festival. In other words, it was redneck yahoo stuff. Nobody got hurt, and nothing really happened. But acrimony among his fellow performers was already beginning to foment. <\/p>\n Also, some folks forget that as Zach Bryan was exploding in popularity, he was married to a woman named Rose Madden. The two married in July of 2020, and she was seen in the short documentary made for Zach Bryan\u2019s second album Elisabeth. Just like Zach Bryan, she was in the Navy. As soon as Bryan\u2019s musical career started taking off, the marriage dissolved, with some feeling like Bryan decided that now that he was big time, he should play the field as opposed to honor his vows, so to speak. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, on Sunday (5-11) as the most recently imbroglio between Zach Bryan and John Moreland swirled, Alabama-based singer\/songwriter Drayton Farley took to X\/Twitter to say, <\/p>\n In \u201821 while opening for him he was backstage telling my wife how cute he thought she was and how much he loves mother\u2019s. He also said things about other artist friends of mine along the lines of \u2018I\u2019ll make sure I ruin their career.\u2019<\/p>\n He\u2019s even personally texted another artist friend of mine demanding that they remove a simple social media post they made about them opening an upcoming show for him (they made their post because he didn\u2019t even put their name on the show flyer).<\/p>\n I have no reason to respect people that have no respect for me and I won\u2019t. Deceivers deceive, artists make art, and mediocrity is often rewarded. \u2018Plastic flowers, plastic business.<\/p>\n Just like John Moreland, eventually Drayton Farley took the post down and left an explanation<\/a>. But just like John Moreland and everyone else who posts things on the internet, the words remain. <\/p>\n Drayton Farley\u2019s revelations once again underscore what most anyone following Zach Bryan since 2021 probably knew, which is that he\u2019s awkward and sometimes outright rude in social situations with other artists and their friends\/family. And just like Moreland and others, Zach Bryan used his popularity to help support Drayton Farley. <\/p>\n But what are these accusations really, that Zach Bryan was rude to wives and girlfriends? That he asked to take a social media post down? Only one person in this whole imbroglio has put his hands on someone else in anger or violence, and that was John Moreland when he punched Kyle Nix of the Turnpike Troubadours in the face<\/a><\/strong> in an incident that stemmed from John Moreland insulting Kyle Nix\u2019s girlfriend. Moreland then took to social media to insult the entire Turnpike Troubadours band, sans Hank Early. <\/p>\n At that time, everyone thought the incident between John Moreland and Kyle Nix was cute. Now it looks like a pattern of behavior for John Moreland himself. <\/p>\n But in the meanwhile, you have artists like Nelly and Diplo, who\u2019ve both been credibly accused of rape and sexual assault<\/strong> by three separate women, and not 1% of the outrage is flowing to them from the country and roots community. In fact, mum\u2019s the word. Both Nelly and Diplo performed at the massive Two Step Inn Fest in Texas, and the Stagecoach Festival in California in April, with the only individual or outlet raising a stink about it being Saving Country Music<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n Nick Carter of The Backstreet Boys just had a fourth woman come forward to accuse him of sexual assault, and this one says he gave her an STD that resulted in cervical Cancer.\u00a0And still, Nick Carter and The Backstreet Boys were invited to perform at the Stagecoach Festival as well, and capped off last week\u2019s ACM Awards in collaboration with Rascal Flatts. And again, there is no criticism flowing to Nick Carter like you see going to Zach Bryan for being rude or weird to people, and for making \u201cborderline racist jokes.\u201d <\/p>\n And so when you read all of these accusations against Zach Bryan, they certainly deserve some context, especially when both of the original posts were removed by their authors, and were inspired by Zach Bryan\u2019s recent $350 million deal. <\/p>\n Zach Bryan was never meant to be a superstar signing $350 million contracts. Saving Country Music was the very first outlet to interview Zach Bryan<\/a><\/strong>, and at that time, he spoke intently about not wanting to quit the Navy, still wanting to pursue music, but wanting to honor his commitment to his country first. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m in the Navy and I love being in the Navy,\u201d\u00a0Zach said.\u00a0\u201cI think I might just keep being in the Navy and writing songs, and that\u2019s about it\u2014keep writing music that people might like \u2026 There are thousands of kids sitting in their rooms right now playing guitars that would beg to be in the position that I\u2019m in right now. That\u2019s out of no arrogance. I feel responsible and an obligation to write more music, and pursue it as well as I possibly can just for those kids. It would be wrong not to chase it, if the songs can get to more people with no stipulations attached, no dollar amount, nothing like that. I would really like for people to hear music they need to hear, my songs or other songs.\u201d<\/p>\n But eventually, Zach Bryan had to quit the Navy because his music became too big, and he was becoming a distraction in his position. We saw this same scenario befall punk band Green Day after they released their 1991 album Kerplunk. The album did so well, they were forced to sign to a major label, which in turn had the hardcore punk scene labeling them sellouts. <\/p>\n Zach Bryan is just a small-town kid from Oklahoma whose mother died early who probably wasn\u2019t born with the disposition to consume, digest, let alone excel when navigating his inadvertent and completely unplanned mega superstardom. On September 27th, Zach Bryan will be playing the biggest single ticketed show in North American history at Michigan Stadium. When you\u2019ve found yourself at the very height of human popularity, how you envision yourself in personal situations and interfacing with fellow artists is of course going to be incredibly awkward. Of course you\u2019re going to come across as out-of-touch, because you are. <\/p>\n Zach Bryan has spent his career saying he\u2019s not a musician, shouting out and giving credit to the artists who came before him\u2014especially John Moreland\u2014and doing what he can with the opportunities he\u2019s been bestowed to turn that attention back on the artists and performers he admires, like Drayton Farley. He\u2019s not perfect, but nobody is. Nor should he be excused for any concerning behavior. <\/p>\n But too many fans are letting their fandom get in the way of regarding these conflicts with an even keel, and an open mind. Some folks are engaging in straight up character assassination in and effort to defend John Moreland. And these conflicts are eroding the strength and integrity of important grassroots networks that have allowed artists like John Moreland and Drayton Farley to be supported, and artists like Zach Bryan excel so he can subsequently turn around and help support those coming up behind him. <\/p>\n None of this drama is healthy, including the fact that so much attention is being sucked up by this situation. Kristina Murray<\/a><\/strong>, Caitlin Cannon<\/a><\/strong>, and Americana supergroup I\u2019m With Her all released albums on Friday when all of this erupted, and those releases felt overshadowed by the controversy. <\/p>\n So everyone take a deep breath, work to chill tensions, and understand we\u2019re all tugging at the same yoke here in the same general direction. You don\u2019t need to take a side. You don\u2019t need to measure who is more right, or more wrong. Listen to the music of Zach Bryan, John Moreland, and Drayton Farley, because they represent some of the greatest singer\/songwriter material of this generation, all from slightly different perspectives, but with music that has put songwriting and songs back to the forefront of the American music consciousness. <\/p>\n \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013 \u2013<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/savingcountrymusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/john-moreland-zach-bryan-1-1-579x1024.jpg\")
<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/savingcountrymusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/zach-bryan-john-moreland.jpg\")
<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/savingcountrymusic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/zach-bryan.jpg\")
Zach Bryan performing at Born & Raised Fest in 2021<\/div>\n