{"id":49186,"date":"2026-02-17T14:45:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=49186"},"modified":"2026-02-17T14:45:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T19:45:33","slug":"zach-bryan-calls-tpusa-halftime-show-cringe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/02\/zach-bryan-calls-tpusa-halftime-show-cringe.html","title":{"rendered":"Zach Bryan Calls TPUSA Halftime Show ‘Cringe’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Left: Katrina Paisano \/ commons.wikimedia.org | Right: Eva Rinaldi \/ flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Country star Zach Bryan found himself in conservative crosshairs after he called TPUSA\u2019s Halftime Show \u201ccringe.\u201d TPUSA\u2019s shows aired as an alternative to Bad Bunny\u2019s performance, which many conservatives had rejected giving Bad Bunny\u2019s proclivity to wear dresses and singing only in Spanish. While Bad Bunny did not wear a dress, something that was rumored to be a real possibility prior to the show, the show was still criticized for Bad Bunny\u2019s all-Spanish songs and explicit lyrics.<\/p>\n

Bryan, however, offered his own criticisms of TPUSA\u2019s show, which was headlined by Kid Rock and featured Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett. In a now deleted post<\/a>, Bryan wrote, \u201cWhat kid rock actually thinks is happening across America,”\u00a0over a video of Bryan\u2019s friend watching the TPUSA show on their phone while blocking Bad Bunny\u2019s performance on the TV with their hand. Fans clapped back, accusing Bryan of losing his patriotism. He later shared another post<\/a> of a message from a fan criticizing him for attacking the show. \u201cwtf happens to you?\u201d asked the fan. \u201cBoy you turned into a Hollywood sell out b—- real quick. You were my favorite artist. Now you are nothing but another dumb— out of touch elitist. S— happens real quick homie.” Bryan, however, doubled down. \u201cI don\u2019t care what side you\u2019re on, a bunch of adults throwing temper tantrums and their own halftime show is embarrassing as hell and the most cringe s— on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bryan later took aim at one of the performers, Brantly Gilbert, by posting a parody video<\/a> of himself singing Gilbert\u2019s song \u201cDirt Road Anthem,\u201d which Gilbert performed at the TPUSA show. Bryan swapped out the lyrics to make the song about a chili dog. Gilbert responded to the video with a video of himself<\/a> eating a chili dog while Bryan plays his parody in the background. \u201c@zachlanebryan, you can climb all the fences you want, you\u2019re not getting my chili dog,\u201d he wrote, referencing an incident when Bryan scaled a fence during an argument with country singer Gavin Adcock. Country star Jason Aldean, a supporter of President Trump, took a shot at Bryan as well, commenting on Gilbert\u2019s video, \u201cBest song I\u2019ve heard from that guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, the TPUSA Halftime show received glowing reviews from conservatives. While some expressed concerns over Kid Rock\u2019s own history of explicit lyrics, others pointed to the progression of the show, which featured Kid Rock singing to some of his older, explicit songs before coming back out and reintroduced by his actual name, Robert James Ritchie. Singing as himself, Ritchie then sang a Gospel-themed message to close out the show. Many conservatives interpreted the show as trying to display Kid Rock\u2019s redemption arc as he leaves behind the rough edges of Kid Rock and embraces the Gospel-washed persona of Robert James Ritchie. \u201cKid Rock honors Jesus Christ at his Super Bowl halftime performance,\u201d wrote one user on X<\/a>. \u201cBad Bunny is a Satanist and wears dresses. The difference couldn\u2019t be more stark.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Country star Zach Bryan found himself in conservative crosshairs after he called TPUSA\u2019s Halftime Show \u201ccringe.\u201d TPUSA\u2019s shows aired as an alternative to Bad Bunny\u2019s performance, which many conservatives had rejected giving Bad Bunny\u2019s proclivity to wear dresses and singing only in Spanish. While Bad Bunny did not wear a dress, something that was rumored…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":49189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"\nZach Bryan Calls TPUSA Halftime Show 'Cringe'<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Zach Bryan mocks TPUSA halftime show as feud with Kid Rock and Brantley Gilbert sparks backlash from conservative fans.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/02\/zach-bryan-calls-tpusa-halftime-show-cringe.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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