What the Heck is Happening Between Charley Crockett and Gavin Adcock - and Why are Beyoncé and Morgan Wallen Involved?

In the latest instalment of Who is Gavin Adcock Beefing with Online Today?, we have a new contender, Charley Crockett, who has found himself in Adcock's crosshairs after Crockett penned a lengthy diatribe which seemingly shaded Morgan Wallen.

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of this out-of-the-blue quarrel, we confess that Crockett's social media presence has been a little confusing of late. We've grown accustomed to the enigmatic crooner's atmospheric shots and philosophical musings on what it means to be ‘country’ in today's landscape over the years.

But of late, he's been - bizarrely - reposting random memes celebrating his discography, and even, it seems, making his own memes, such as one claiming he consistently releases badass country records. There's nothing wrong with some self-promotion, but it's just felt a little bit off-brand and, in all honesty, a tad weird.

Gavin Adcock wasn't taking issue with Charley Crockett's meme-making skills, though. Crockett delivered one of his more traditional reflections on the state of country music last night (Tuesday, August 19th), during which he seemed to shade Morgan Wallen for being the No. 1 country artist on the planet, yet only listening to rap music.

The ‘$10 Cowboy’ singer-songwriter appeared to be referencing Morgan Wallen's comments in his May appearance on Theo Von's This Past Weekend podcast, where he admitted he doesn't tend to listen to much country music in his spare time.

The purpose of Crockett's post was to defend Beyoncé from the flak she's been receiving from various corners of country music - including criticism from Adcock himself - for venturing into the genre last year with her COWBOY CARTER project.

Crockett explained, “Hey country folks. @beyonce ain’t the source of your discontent. It was 25 years of bro country. #1 country artist on earth listen’s to nothing but rap. Openly says he doesn’t really know any country music. Gotta respect his honesty”.

He went on, “The machine points to a black woman who’s making a statement about marginalized people being removed from the conversation altogether, and somehow we all act like the entire pop industry didn’t just ambush roots music. These “country boys” been *singing* over trap beats for years. So what’s different now? Authenticity. Many of those business folks called me early on. They had whole albums pre written and recorded ready to just plug me in. I have receipts”.

He offered a shout-out to rapper BigXthaPlug, who is dropping his first country project this week, “It’s harder than ever to keep the public’s attention. They said and I quote “we wanna get into country music where you have audience loyalty.” Hot today, forgot tomorrow. I don’t need to put down a black woman to advance my music. That’s just embarrassing to the idea of America and I got no respect for it. Somebody asked me why I listen to @bigxthaplug the other day. Easy. He’s genuine. A true story teller. The best hip hop sound to come out of Texas in this century. The challenges country music faces aren’t unique. It’s an issue in every *genre*. I don’t have a problem with Americana. I have a problem with being compartmentalized by the music business. Outlaw as a *sub genre* of country was artists standing up for their rights against a rigid system. Ain’t no reason to imitate [Waylon] and [Willie] if you ain’t about the fight. Texas forever”.

Although he definitely seemed to be questioning why Morgan Wallen has become the biggest country artist, despite not listening to the genre that much, he also credited Wallen's honesty. It wasn't a massive dig by any means, with Charley Crockett simply referencing the Sneedville megastar as he made a broader point about misplaced frustration towards Beyoncé and Crockett's own genre-labelling.

However, Adcock wasted no time in rushing to Wallen's defence - as he's done before when media personality Mia Khalifa slated his fanbase for being “racist” - with the ‘Morning Bail’ hitmaker sharing via X, “Somebody needs to tell the “act” that has let out (the cover) of James town ferry 6 times he should just work on letting out quality original music...I got more cowshit under my pinky then you have seen your whole fuckin life...Hank sr called and asked about the cosplay cowboy”.

Somebody needs to tell the “act” that has let out (the cover) of James town ferry 6 times he should just work on letting out quality original music

I got more cowshit under my pinky then you have seen your whole fuckin life.

Hank sr called and asked about the cosplay cowboy

— Gavin Adcock Music (@GavinAdcock) August 20, 2025

Via his Instagram Stories, Adcock branded Crockett the “Dips** of the week”, and followed this up with a photo of The Ghoul from Fallout, stating that he “Looks like this guy”.

While we commend Gavin Adcock's loyalty to his fellow Sticks Management signee and his 2025 tour-mate, it feels like this is a spat that he didn't really need to wade into.

The crux of Crockett's rumination wasn't Wallen's apparent apathy towards country music juxtaposing with his status in the genre, it was to champion Texas artists like Beyoncé and BigXthaPlug that are making country songs on their own terms.

On the flip-side, Wallen catches a lot of stick for his incorporation of ‘trap beats’, and we'd argue this is simply the Knoxville native's way of doing country in his own way, too. Much of his new album, I'm the Problem, felt very ‘country’ in the classic sense.

Regardless, Gavin Adcock - who has been embroiled in disputes with a range of figures in recent weeks, including Nickelback's sound guy and Zach Bryan - has not held back in his response to Charley Crockett. While Crockett was measured in his assessment, Adcock's rebuttal is vindictive, and The Ghoul photo is just plain mean.

In all honesty, while we appreciate Charley Crockett's desire to get these thoughts off his chest and Gavin Adcock feeling the urge to defend his buddy, it feels like Morgan Wallen was needlessly dragged into this, while Adcock's reply was unmerited. It has typically felt like country was the ‘misfit’ in the music industry, and any artist achieving success with the genre and introducing new listeners to its beauty has been cause for celebration, whether it's Morgan Wallen storming to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 or Beyoncé crafting COWBOY CARTER.

It feels like we've lost this sense of camaraderie that used to permeate the industry, with sub-genre battle-lines and smug superiority (we're looking at you, Zach Bryan), creating a much more hostile ambience. We don't really have the answer or solution, but what we would recommend is that Crockett, Adcock and anyone else beefing should have a listen to Kenny Chesney's feel-good earworm, ‘Get Along’...

For more on Charley Crockett, see below: