Country superstar in trouble after ex-girlfriend claims abuse, says she rejected $12M to stay quiet

Country music star Zach Bryan has been accused of “emotional abuse” by his ex-girlfriend Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia while they were in a relationship.
LaPaglia, 25, is a co-host of the BFF Podcast with Dave Portnoy and Josh Richards. She made the allegations against Bryan, 28, public on Thursday’s latest podcast episode.
“The last year of my life has been the hardest year of my life dealing with the abuse from this dude,” LaPaglia said, referring to Bryan.
“I‘m still scared right now because I’m scared of him,” she continued. “My brain’s rewired, and I’m scared to make him mad, and last week, I didn’t want to talk about it ’cause I was scared.”
LaPaglia alleged that she was offered $12 million and a New York apartment in exchange for signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) about their relationship, which she said she refused. She went on to also allege other women who were previously in relationships with Bryan were made to sign non-disclosure agreements to keep details a secret.
Bryan and LaPaglia started dating in July 2023 after meeting at the Academy of Country Music Awards. They broke up in October, with Bryan posting a statement on Instagram.
Born in Oologah, Oklahoma, Bryan has risen from uploading his own songs on YouTube in 2017 to landing No. 1 records and selling over 30 million albums and singles.
Bryan has collaborated with Bruce Springsteen on his fifth album, “The Great American Bar Scene,” with the song “Sandpaper.” Springsteen also appeared on stage with Bryan at his Aug. 7th show in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field. They performed “Atlantic City” and “Sandpaper” together.
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Murjani Rawls may be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @MurjaniRawls.