Zach Bryan. Erika Goldring/Getty Images
Thank you, Dave Portnoy, for offering some insight into Zach Bryan’s song “Pink Skies.”
Fans of the country singer were unaware that the song from his most recent album, The Great American Bar Scene, was about ex-girlfriend Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia’s best friend, Grace O’Malley — until now.
Portnoy, 47, released a second diss track about 28-year-old Bryan titled “Country Diddy,” on Sunday, November 10. Within the lyrics, the Barstool Sports founder made a comment that raised eyebrows.
“Say you hate Grace that you’re nothing alike,” Portnoy raps on the track. “Then the song ‘Pink Skies’ is based on her life?”
Dave Portnoy and Zach Bryan’s beef runs deep — and it’s not just because of Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia. “He hates my guts,” Portnoy, 47, said about the singer during a “BFFs” podcast in November 2024. “I ended up more in the middle of this than I, kind of, was anticipating.” Bryan announced in October 2024 […]
Social media users were quick to react to the diss track following its release on Sunday.
“Can someone explain how pink skies is about Grace?” one TikTok commenter asked about the “Pink Skies” reference. LaPaglia, 25, was quick to weigh in.
“Because I forced him to go to her grandmas funeral he screamed at me then wrote it that night,” the podcast host claimed.
@darcysteacorner
“Pink Skies” was released in May as the lead single from The Great American Bar Scene. At the time, Bryan shut down any fan speculation that it was about his life — but stayed vague.
“’Pink Skies’ wasn’t inspired by my story. Everytime I sing about someone dying people assume it’s about my mom, this definitely was not,” Bryan shared via X. (Bryan’s mom, Annette, died in 2016.) “I just think all the dynamics in families are beautiful and interesting and generationally it’s a really cool thing.”
Bryan has been making headlines as of late after announcing on October 22 that he and LaPaglia split following one year together. LaPaglia claimed she was “blindsided” by the public nature of their breakup.
In the aftermath of their split, LaPaglia has gone public with bombshell accusations that she was in an emotionally abusive relationship with the singer. She alleged on an episode of the “BFFs” podcast last week that Bryan attempted to give her a $12 million payout if she signed an NDA regarding the experiences in their relationship. She turned down the money. (Us Weekly has reached out to Bryan’s team for all accusations made on the podcast.)
Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards dragged Zach Bryan through the mud with their “Smallest Man” diss track — and used the country singer’s own songs to do it. On Wednesday, November 6, the “BFFs” podcast hosts dropped a five-minute-long music video in defense of Bryan’s ex-girlfriend and their cohost, Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia. (The […]
LaPaglia also alleged that Bryan hated O’Malley, 26, when they were together, which caused tension between the friends.
“Me and Grace will always be fine,” LaPaglia said on “BFFs.” The podcast host also alleged that during a trip for her birthday in June, Bryan yelled “horrible s—” at her friends. She claimed that there is video footage of the moment.
Fans have questioned why said footage hasn’t gone public, with some speculating that O’Malley took money from Bryan and his team. O’Malley has since addressed these rumors.
“I wish I didn’t even have to say this but there is no world where I would EVER take money from that clown to shut me up,” she wrote in an Instagram Story post on Saturday, November 9. “It’s been quite the year & I’m still not ready to talk about it (online) ‘m just happy Bri is free from that piece of s—. That’s all for now.”
