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Zach Bryan Is Going on the Defensive

Thunderstorms couldn’t stop Zach Bryan from bringing the electricity to Gillette Stadium
Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Boston Globe via Getty Images

After one of the messiest celebrity breakups of 2024, country singer Zach Bryan is switching up his strategy from near silence and petty UFC shout-outs to lashing out at his haters in a multi-paragraph Instagram PSA. In a series of meandering stories, the 28-year-old appeared to address the fallout of his breakup with Barstool podcaster Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia, calling out “little bullies on the internet” and insisting that he’s a “grown man” who doesn’t need “sympathy.”

As you’ll recall, LaPaglia said Bryan “blindsided” her when he publicly announced their split in October after dating for a little over a year. She went on to accuse the singer of domestic violence and claimed she was offered a $12 million NDA and a New York apartment to stay silent about their relationship — allegations Bryan has not publicly addressed. In the aftermath of the breakup, LaPaglia has received public support and brand collabs of Ariana Madix–Scandoval proportions. Bryan, meanwhile, has largely gotten the Tom Sandoval treatment, which he now seems to have tired of.

“All you fuckin weird couch warriors attacking and belittling my friends on the internet because you’re assuming I have a girlfriend are weird as hell and should be studied for science,” he wrote Thursday. “Everyone wonders why I quit touring and don’t want to be attached to music anymore meanwhile you’re calling my friends ugly and harassing them?”

“I’m not asking for sympathy but going for my -friends- is so low and so messed up?” he continued. “Apparently I’ve [had] four different girlfriends in like two weeks meanwhile my friends and me are just laughing and hanging out like we always have.”

Bryan went on to say that he does not currently have a girlfriend and doesn’t “plan on” having one anytime soon, insisting that his followers focus on the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires as opposed to nitpicking his love life.

“Go give your attention and time to the literal city burning down and stop being so sad and fickle and childish through screens,” he wrote. “No matter how bad of a person you think I am, go ahead and come for me. I can take all the hatred because I’m not a child. But do not come for my friends who do nothing but love and care for me.”

As for getting back out there? LaPaglia isn’t interested in dating men anytime soon, if at all. Instead, the 25-year-old is “married to [her] career.” Can you blame her?

Zach Bryan Is Going on the Defensive