I think we can all agree that 2021 has been a breath of fresh air for many of us — new starts, new goals, and new resolutions that we’re hoping to accomplish. But while everyone is celebrating the start of a new year, we’ve been missing a pretty messy celebrity feud! And it’s all involving the Backstreet Boys! *gasp*
More specifically, the unexpected spat is between Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell, who, in addition to being bandmates, are also cousins.
Last Wednesday, Kevin posted a seemingly harmless tweet, linking an article from Cosmo titled, ‘I Lost My Best Friend to QAnon’.
Nothing too suspicious, right?
Just minutes later, he continued sharing another Cosmo article titled, “The Unlikely Connection Between Wellness Influencers and the Pro-Trump Rioters.”
Again, nothing too suspicious, right? Wrong.
QAnon is a disproven far-right conspiracy theory — one of many circulating the internet now. It alleges that cannibalistic pedophiles are running a global child sex-trafficking ring planning to overthrow President Trump (who is currently battling against them, but clearly he has too much else going on for us to know about it).
But if you’re a true fan, it’s important to note that fellow Backstreet Boys member Brian Littrell, recently encouraged his fans through Twitter to join the controversial Parler app alongside him — on the same day Trump was banned from Twitter.
So how does this indicate that Kevin and Brian are fighting?
It’s important to note that Parler was banned after the insurrection at Capitol Hill. This is due to the fact that many believe the disturbing events were planned through the app, which is popular among QAnon supporters and right-wingers.
Now it’s clicking, isn’t it?
To further the speculation that Kevin is obviously making jabs at his bandmate, Brian has openly been a passionate Trump supporter through a good chunk of his controversial presidency. Even so, he went so far as to express disappointment to TMZ for not being available to perform at his inauguration because they were already playing a show that day.
He’s even been quoted by saying: “Hollywood needs to chill out, all right? You’re talking about the commander-in-chief, right? We’re talking about respect. In my opinion, he’s going to do so many great things for this nation, and even for the people who disapprove of him. Give peace a chance! I have faith in the system. I have faith in his character, his beliefs, and his balls. Let’s just put it that way.”
Brian, what are you doing!? We all loved you!
So anyway, this has all been happening under the radar if you weren’t aware of Brian’s involvement with QAnon and his support for Trump.
But the other Backstreet Boys have been noticeably more active on their social media pages in an attempt to distract fans from the situation.
For example, Nick announced he’s going to be a dad of three this year.
Secondly, AJ has announced a new nail polish line that just released. He’s also celebrating his new podcast with his Dancing With the Stars partner Cheryl Burke. Additionally, he posted an optimistic picture about returning to tour this year.
Howie, on the other hand, has been posting about his kids… Which isn’t anything out of the ordinary. But Nick and AJ have been going overboard with the content.
And since all of this mess has been announced, Kevin subtweeted again!
Obviously, none of this can be confirmed. But it’s pretty clear that Kevin isn’t happy with the state of the world or the lack of empathy he’s seeing from his bandmate. Over the past two weeks, he’s been extremely vocal about his disapproval of the Capitol Hill events and what’s happened throughout Trump’s presidency. Brian, on the other hand, has been silent.
Personally, I’m hoping that Kevin is subtweeting someone else and, despite the differences between him and his cousin, the band will remain together. I’m patiently awaiting my chance to see them perform and would be devastated if this caused a hiatus… Again.
So until then, I guess I’ll continue to listen to their “Black and Blue” album because it’s the best way to describe how I feel about this fight… Black and damn blue.
Featured image via Joel Telling from Snohomish, USA IMG_8616
