Photograph: Kevin Winter/GA/The Hollywood Reporter by way of Getty Photographs
It’s fairly seemingly that you just’ve discovered your self in a scenario the place you’re overhearing your Gen-Z co-workers say issues like, “Are you following Brianna Chickenfry and Grace O’Malley’s friendship breakup? It’s, like, actually intense.” For those who don’t know who these individuals are, you’re formally outdated. That’s okay. Take a second to stretch your creaky physique after which I’ll clarify the podcast-TikTok-Barstool Sports activities drama that’s been gripping the web.
Brianna Chickenfry (née LaPaglia) and Grace O’Malley are childhood greatest mates who (till just lately) co-hosted the podcast Plan Bri Uncut. The Barstool Sports activities podcast started as a solo endeavor for Brianna whereas she was nonetheless in school, however when she moved to New York, she introduced Grace alongside and finally made her a co-host. Since then, their friendship and their careers have develop into entangled, as being greatest mates changed into their job.
Their relationship started to endure when Brianna was courting nation star Zach Bryan, who she was with till October of this yr. Following their breakup, Brianna accused the singer of being emotionally abusive and claimed that she had turned down a proposal of $12 million to signal an NDA. For a quick second, she grew to become a hero on the web for bravely dissecting the connection, the best way she was handled, and the way she misplaced herself through the yr they spent collectively.
Folks started to take a position that Brianna and Grace’s friendship was on the rocks earlier this yr, when Brianna was on tour with Bryan and (actually) phoning it in on their podcast. Shortly earlier than Brianna and Zach’s breakup, listeners received particularly upset when it appeared to them that Brianna was blaming Grace for being sexually assaulted as a teen. The episode after that, which got here out on October 10, was their final episode. (Brianna would later use the channel to substantiate that she was “blindsided” by Bryan’s announcement of their breakup.)
Quick-forward to December and Brianna was nonetheless driving a wave of goodwill. As a part of Spotify Wrapped, Spotify named the Plan Bri Uncut podcast as one in every of its “Breakout Creators” of the yr. Brianna shared the publish to her personal Instagram Story, writing, “Engaged on bringing again some model of Planbri guys.” Grace took this to be an announcement that their model of the podcast was over and shared her personal assertion.
“For months I’ve been radio silent in regards to the standing of Plan Bri and it has killed me to go away you guys hanging. The plan was for Brianna and me to place out a joint assertion in regards to the finish of the podcast,” Grace wrote. She stated that seeing followers tag her of their Spotify Wrapped had made her emotional, however she saved quiet due to the plan to launch a joint assertion.
“You could have seen Brianna publish that she’s ‘engaged on bringing again some model’ of Plan Bri. To present you guys the a lot wanted information you deserve, all I can say is that that was my first time listening to about this,” she defined. “I don’t suppose I’ll ever absolutely get into each side of how this got here to be, however it ought to be stated that, though this was not a mutual resolution, I’m realizing that, within the grand scheme of issues, it’d really find yourself being the fitting one.”
Following Grace’s assertion, Plan Bri listeners and individuals who observe TikTok drama appeared to be resoundingly on her facet. On one Reddit publish in regards to the scenario, the highest remark reads, “Bri shits on Zach for posting their breakup earlier than she’s prepared after which does this to Grace lmao what a pos.” (That’s “piece of shit.”)
Properly, she received Barstool within the breakup and continues to podcast with CEO Dave Portnoy on a present referred to as BFFs.
On an episode launched final week, Brianna shared her facet of the story. To her, Grace behaved poorly whereas she was nonetheless courting Bryan, which was the start of the top of their friendship. She recalled telling Grace, “I really feel like, since you hate Zach a lot, you’re forgetting to separate that I’m your greatest pal.”
“You possibly can hate him and be there for me, however she by no means was,” Brianna stated by way of tears. As folks started to criticize Brianna earlier within the yr, she stated she requested Grace to stay up for her on-line, which she stated Grace declined to do as a result of it “constructed her up.” Brianna additionally claimed that she ended the podcast in October as a result of it had develop into “a discussion board to bully” her.
Brianna will most certainly keep within the Barstool universe and proceed podcasting below that banner. Wait a minute: Two feminine greatest mates with a Barstool podcast breaking apart in a really public and messy means? That sounds sort of acquainted. Did you suppose we’d get during this with out Alex Cooper and Name Her Daddy making an look?
For her half, Grace has remained quiet since she made her assertion on Instagram. Nevertheless, on December 18, Cooper shared a screenshot of her name historical past with Grace, displaying that they’d had a 38-minute dialog. “You possibly can cease tagging me, I do know what must be achieved,” Cooper wrote.
The subsequent day, it was introduced that Grace can be becoming a member of Cooper’s Unwell Community, presumably together with her personal podcast. I think about she’ll be recording a tell-all episode of Name Her Daddy ASAP.
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