Fox News hosts torched Zach Bryan following the release of a new country song full of anti-ICE sentiments.
On Tuesday, hosts of “Outnumbered” took turns slamming Bryan for turning on what they deemed core tenets of country music: a love of America and law enforcement in equal measure. They even wondered if this new release might mark the beginning of the famous singer’s end.
“All right, Kayleigh [McEnany], my fellow country fan, this is pretty obvious, and it seems like a departure from the traditional country music that favors Americana and patriotism,” Emily Compagno said. “And it surprises me because Luke Bryan started his career as an effective songwriter for the likes of real country artists like Travis Tritt and Billy Currington. And I’m not quite sure if that vibes with this.”
“Yeah, I think he chose the wrong genre of music, because in country music we are full of patriotism, pride, love for law enforcement, ICE, all of our law enforcement,” McEnany replied. “I do want to point out John Rich, a great country artist who said Nashville is full of guys like this, so he called it out. He’ll be joining me Saturday on ‘Saturday in America,’ so tune in for that. But country music is patriotism. It’s police. This guy had a run-in with police, by the way. I would just say this: He had to apologize for it. So Zach Bryan, go check out his history.”
Bryan released a snippet of his new song, titled “Bad News,” last Friday. The anti-ICE lyrics started making the rounds shortly after and subsequently ruffled a large number of the country singer’s fan base. The lyrics read:
“I heard the cops came, cocky motherf–kers, ain’t they?
And ICE is gonna come bust down your door
Try and build a house no one builds no more, but I got a telephone
Kids are all scared and all alone
The bar stopped bumping, the rock stopped rolling
The middlе fingers rising and it won’t stop showing
Got some bad news, thе fading of the red, white and blue”
Compagno read a social media post from Buzz Patterson, who wondered if Bryan had “Bud Lite-ed himself” with the new song. The host also pondered if this new stance against ICE would mark the beginning of Bryan’s “end” in country music.
Bryan hit back at criticism of “Bad News” on his Instagram Story Tuesday, defending the “song is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything.”
He added, “When you hear the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle.”
The release of “Bad News” is far from the first time Bryan has been in the headlines in 2025. He most recently cropped up while he and fellow country singer Gavin Adcock escalated their feud by yelling at each other during a music festival in early September.
