Real or satire?
Taking to social media Sunday afternoon, TikTok user, Troy Dewberry Music, sparked controversy when he told the story of how he allegedly got fired from his job as Luke Bryan’s tour manager. Referring to the country superstar as “Duke Ryan,” Troy detailed the laughable argument that resulted in his termination:
After being on tour for a couple of months, Luke Bryan allegedly approached his then-tour manager, Troy Dewberry, on the day of his last show claiming there was a “problem in the green room.” When Troy inquired what the issue was, hoping to solve the problem, he was met with a diva-like response:
“He said ‘I asked for organic vegetables, and they’re not organic.’ I said, ‘Hmm. Can we just play this last show, you know, and just hit the road back home?’ He said ‘No, I want my organic vegetables.'”
Acknowledging the ridiculousness of Luke’s request, Troy was fed up and unwilling to bother himself with fixing the “problem”. He denied the award-winning artist his insistent request for organic vegetables, and it’s this refusal that allegedly cost him his job.
“I said ‘You’re gonna fire me over organic versus non-organic?’ He said ‘Yeah, I guess I am'”
Without folding to the request or begging for his job back, Troy responded to being fired with a witty jab at Luke before leaving.
“Take your crappy music and your skinny jeans you should have been out of 30 years ago, and shove them right on up your a**”
To the surprise of many, Luke Bryan then decided to reply as he took to the comment section using his official TikTok account. Luke responded saying, “I’ll fight you anytime. We can stream it on TikTok.” Though seemingly strange and aggressive, this isn’t the first time Luke Bryan has responded to criticism on social media.
In October 2023, Luke Bryan was once again subject to controversy after replying to a concert review on Twitter. The article analyzed his St. Paul concert as empty, and his performance as lacking animation and momentum–comments Luke Bryan did not appreciate in the slightest.
Wow. I’ve never received one positive review from y’all’s publication since I’ve been to the twin cities area in my whole career. The trend continues. The sold out crowd had a great time.
— Luke Bryan (@lukebryan) October 17, 2023
After his response, a separate article was published highlighting both his comment to the review and his “career decline”. The 47-year-old country star once again fearlessly responded to the post, more aggressively stating, “You can kiss my a** too.”
You can kiss my ass too.
— Luke Bryan (@lukebryan) October 18, 2023
Troy replied to the comment on his TikTok rant with a second video accepting the offer. However, his answer came with a couple of conditions:
“If I win, you got to leave country music for good never to be heard of again. You go to rap or rock or whatever. And two, you gotta give my sister her pants back.” The loser’s punishments continued as he jokingly outlined his penalty for a loss, “If you win, I’ll listen to that Shake It Country Girl Shake It for Me song, or whatever you wrote, for 24 hours a day, seven days a week for two months straight, and I’ll forever be known as the guy who got his ass kicked by Luke Bryan.”
Luke responded once again–a little more humbly this time–with a counteroffer to end the drama flat out offering concert tickets and an additional tip:
“Man congrats for getting under my skin today. We can squash it or continue it. You do you. I’m ready whenever. Come to a show. You’ll have tickets like Ricky Bobby’s dad. Be funny. Play music. But don’t be a liar. Music is a small town.“
As entertaining as this celebrity boxing match may have been, both decided to squash the beef. In telling his audience he’s ending the feud, Troy chose to add a little taste of inspiring wisdom from his mother:
“She said, ‘Troy, What the world needs now more than ever is people putting aside their differences and coming together.’ So Luke, let’s consider it squashed, man.“
So, after the whirlwind of social media drama and the initial sparks of controversy, Troy ultimately opted to follow the advice of his mother. Though a celebrity showdown is tempting, the attempt to prevent it reminds us all of the importance of setting aside differences and promoting togetherness.
While none of this is clearly true, it does make for a good story.