One thing about me, I have an awful track record when it comes to finding an artist, and then shortly after, they get cancelled. Now a lot of people say “Oh just separate the art from the artist and keep listening to them,” and this can work for some people. And I have been able to do so in the past, but in the most recent cases. I’m not sure if I can.Â
Now some of you may know, rising country singer Zach Bryan has hit a wall with his growing career after the breakup of him and Brianna Chickenfry. I will say I have been a huge Bri fan since her early days at Barstool Sports. When she and Zach started dating, I didn’t think anything of it. I usually don’t care much about an artist’s life behind the music. It was cool seeing her tour with one of my favorite country singers and gave us a little more insight into his life, but nothing I could keep up with. Earlier this October there became breakup rumours along with a dating profile that Zach had made. I started to tune into the drama at this point. The thing with Zach is, he says how awful he is in his music. He calls himself out very clearly on how he isn’t the best at being a boyfriend, husband, or really anything other than a country singer. So the thought of him cheating on Bri wasn’t a shocker to me. It sucks sure, and I love Bri, but it wasn’t anything I was going to stop listening to Zach for.  Next thing I see is Zach post on his Instagram story that him and Bri broke up. The world kept spinning. I was curious to hear why. I was even more shocked that it was that soon of him posting it. There were whispers of him being mean and cheating. Like I said before, he says it in his songs. And I was able to separate the art from the artist when it came to that, but after Bri’s podcast on Bartatools BFF’S Pod, I really had to think long and hard about the guy I wanted to support. Bri had mentioned he had disregarded her feelings about keeping the breakup private. Weird, it’s rude, sure. But then she mentioned she was offered $12 Million to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Now I’ve never had anyone offer me anything for my silence but I’m going to guess if someone’s offering you THAT much. Some awful things happened to her. There were mentions abuse. That is where I draw the line. The mental abuse Bri received from Zach sounded awful. The stories she mentioned involved aspects of him being a narcissist and just an awful human. I knew I had to stop listening to his music. There was no separation of the art and the artist on this one.Â