Breaking onto the country music scene in 2007, Luke Bryan has amassed quite a fanbase. With singles like “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” and “Play It Again,” the Georgia-born artist, 48, has enjoyed immense success. Since 2018, Bryan has gained an entirely new fanbase as a judge on American Idol. However, you can’t please everyone all the time. Bryan recently addressed a nearly decade-old “fatal error” that had motorcycle gangs threatening to torch his home.
Luke Bryan Clarifies Controversial Waylon Jennings Comments
Appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Luke Bryan referenced a well-documented 2015 incident when he caught heat for comments he made regarding outlaw country and drug use.
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“Man, I had motorcycle gangs wanting to burn my house down,” the best-selling country artist said.
Luke Bryan insisted his words had been misrepresented—and that the publication’s “manipulation” caused a rift between the artist and a chunk of his fanbase.
“The way they manipulated that story, I lost that whole crowd right then,” he said. “Broke my heart
The Original Incident
Back in summer 2015, Luke Bryan ignited a firestorm when he implied that his lack of drug use is what sets him apart from outlaw country singers like Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Merle Haggard.
“I’m not an outlaw country singer. I don’t do cocaine and run around. So I’m not going to sing outlaw country,” the five-time Entertainer of the Year told the online magazine HITS Daily Double. “I like to hunt, fish, ride around on my farm, build a big bonfire and drink some beers—and that’s what I sing about. It’s what I know. I don’t know about laying in the gutter, strung out on drugs. I don’t really want to do that.”
The comments drew swift backlash from Jennings’ daughter-in-law, who blasted the “Rain Is a Good Thing” hitmaker on her personal Facebook page.
For Luke Bryan’s part, he called Waylon’s widow, Jessi Colter, and apologized. Waylon’s son, Shooter Jennings, praised the “Mind of a Country Boy” singer’s actions in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
“I misfired and said some things in the past about people, namely John Mayer. And I didn’t have the guts to apologize,” Shooter said. “So, that being said, that kinda won me over.”
Featured image by Larry Marano/Shutterstock
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