Stirring the pot. I’m sure you’ve heard about the controversy that erupted after Zach Bryan teased an unexpectedly political new song called “Bad News” earlier this month, which criticized the ongoing immigration raids by ICE and bemoaned the “fading of the red white and blue.” The song starts out pretty typical for a Zach Bryan song: “Didn’t wake up dead or in jail Some out of town boys been giving us hell I got some bad news I woke up missing you My friends are all degenerates but they’re all I got The generational story of dropping the plot I heard the cops came Cocky mother******* ain’t they?” However, once the song gets to its second verse, Bryan took aim at the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). And towards the end of the verse, the country star reveals that the “Bad News” he’s singing about is the “fading of the red, white and blue.” He also seems to lament the fact that Bruce Springsteen, who famously rants about Donald Trump at every concert, has lost some fans recently: “And ICE is gonna come, bust down your door Try to build a house no one builds no more But I got a telephone Kids are all scared and all alone The Boss stopped bumping, the rock stopped rolling The middle fingers rising and it won’t stop showing I got some bad news The fading of the red, white and blue” As you can imagine, the song has drew strong reactions from both sides of the political aisle. Many on the left are praising Bryan, while many on the right have criticized the song as anti-law enforcement and called for boycotts of Zach’s music. Even high up political figures like Kristi Noem, The Secretary of Homeland Security, called the song “completely disrespectful,” and the story in general made national headlines. The controversy surrounding the song eventually led the country star to take to his Instagram story last week to share an explanation, where Zach shared an explanation for “Bad News,” saying that the track actually celebrates how much he loves the United States of America, and that when fans hear the rest of the song, they’ll understand: “Please f***ing read this. I wrote this song months ago. I posted this song three months ago as a snippet. This shows you how divisive a narrative can be when shoved down our throats through social media. This song is about how much I love this country and everyone in it more than anything. When you hear the rest of the song, you will understand the full context that hits on both sides of the aisle. Everyone using this now as a weapon is only proving how devastatingly divided we all are. We need to find our way back.” The “Pink Skies” singer went on to mention that he served in the U.S. Navy for eight years, and clarified that he wasn’t trying to set himself up on a pedestal with this teaser. Instead, he’s hoping that when the full version of “Bad News is released (he makes it seem as though he’ll still put the song out), it’ll be a unifying song rather than one that divides… like people are painting it out to be: “I served this country, I love this country and the song itself is about all of us coming out of this divided space. I wasn’t speaking as a politician or some greater-than-thou a******. Just a 29-year-old man who is just as confused as everyone else. To see how much s*** is stirred up make me not only embarrassed, but kind of scared. Left wing or right wing, we’re all one bird and American. To be clear, I’m on neither of these radical sides. To all these disappointed in me on either side of whatever you believe in, just know I’m trying my best too, and we can all say things that are misconstrued sometimes. Everyone have a great day and I love each and every one of ya!” He continued: “The last few months of my life, I’ve been scrutinized by more people than I ever thought possible. I feel like I’ve tried  my hardest in so many ways and it’s so hard to see where my bearings even are anymore. Been falling off a cliff while trying to grow wings at the same time. I am SO proud to have served in a country where we can all speak freely and converse amongst each other without getting doxxed, or accosted on the internet, or worse; the violence and heartbreak we’ve faced in the last few months. God speed ol’ sons I’m out.” Other than that, we haven’t heard much else from him about the whole thing, but he seemingly hinted at it with a post on his Instagram stories late last night, where he shared a post of a photo from the classic Halloween movie Hocus Pocus, from the scene where two bullies find Max in a cemetery and demand cash, though Max doesn’t have any and they ultimately steal his shoes. One of the bullies insists he wants to be called “Ice” instead of his real name, Ernie, and even has the word “Ice” buzzed into his haircut on the back of his head. It has nothing to do with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but Zach took the scene and used it to stir the post. “The movie ‘Hocus Pocus’ was in the f***** FUTURE SON.” A world class troll…. Honestly, Zach ability to get people riled up is pretty comical, but it inevitably will be followed up with an apology, a deactivation of social media, and a cliche “I love everybody” platitude. If you want to be a troll, be a troll… don’t apologize for it. Seems he’s still planning to release the song eventually… Here’s the clip from the movie: @freeform This scene is so outrageously 90s and I love it. Taking fashion notes fr #HocusPocus #Halloween #90s ♬ original sound – Freeform And if you somehow missed hearing “Bad News” during the media firestorm, you can listen below. The post Zach Bryan Stirs The Pot With Another ICE Comment While Watching The Popular Halloween Movie “Hocus Pocus” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.