Travis Tritt and Zach Bryan Make Amends ‘In Person’ After Twitter Spat
Travis Tritt and Zach Bryan put a Twitter feud to bed during Texas' Two Step Inn Festival earlier this month (Apr. 15-16), as the two singers hashed out their differing political ideologies in person.
The trouble started, as it often does, on Twitter. Early in April, Tritt was among the country artists who announced they were boycotting beer company Anheuser-Busch after a one-off partnership between the Bud Light brand and transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, tweeting that he planned to "delet[e] all Anheuser-Busch products from my tour hospitality rider" and adding, "I know many other artists who are doing the same."
Bryan then hopped on Twitter to wax philosophical about the issue, from the opposite political perspective. "I mean no disrespect towards anyone specifically, I don't even mind [Tritt.] I just think insulting transgender people is completely wrong because we live in a country where we can all just be who we want to be," he said, quoting a 2000 Tritt hit as he added, "It's a great day to be alive I thought."
He continued to offer up his thoughts, adding that -- though Bryan himself is presumably cisgender and straight -- he's got skin in the game on this issue. "I just have family transitioning and have blood to defend here. No one threaten me pls," he wrote.
"I'm on no one's side ol sons, I love God and my family and don't like when people are being insulted," the singer said in another tweet. "We're all just doing our best, hope everyone can relax someday soon."
Tritt saw Bryan's statements, and replied with an invitation to meet and discuss the issue in person. "Since we are both playing the Two Step Inn Festival in Georgetown, TX this Saturday, I was hoping we could chat in person," he suggested. "See ya there boss!" Bryan replied. Meanwhile, he continued to post short reflections on his own page, reflecting on how "weird" the vitriol of the situation was but not sharing any thoughts that attacked Tritt.
The exact contents of the conversation that ensued haven't been made public by either party, but it seems that the pair walked away with mutual respect for their differing opinions. "
"[Travis Tritt] and me talked for an hour and a half last night, eye to eye. It was nice to meet an old legend," Bryan tweeted on Apr. 16. "We disagree on some things and agree on some things and it seems the world did not end. My dad almost cried at his set. Can everyone stop being so weird."
Since then, both parties have continued to espouse their respective views. On Apr. 21 and 22, Tritt retweeted a few statements regarding a leave of absence taken by Bud Light's VP of marketing, Alissa Heinerschied, as well as sharing his own tweet that she "should be fired from Anheuser-Busch."
Though Tritt is one of the stars expressing displeasure at Bud Light's partnership with Mulvaney, he's not the loudest voice in this conversation. Kid Rock released a video of himself shooting 12-packs of Bud Light with an assault rifle, while Brantley Gilbert slammed a can of the beer to the ground onstage during a show in Alabama.
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