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Dustin Lynch got his payback during an “epic introduction” for Luke Bryan during the “That’s My Kind Of Night” superstar’s ninth annual Crash My Playa festival in Riviera Cancún, Mexico. Lynch joined forces with a surprise guest and “the best roaster of all time,” to get back at Bryan.
Last year, Bryan spoke out in response to backlash over the introduction he made for Lynch, which included sarcastic jokes at the Killed The Cowboy artist’s expense. At least one video circulated on TikTok, prompting disapproving comments and some tabloid media reports. Bryan said in a statement on his Instagram story at the time, in part: “Dustin Lynch is one of my dearest friends on the planet. No one respects him more than I do…my introduction of him was complete sarcasm. Those words that I used were so absurd, I figured everybody would take it as sarcasm. Obviously, some people didn’t.”
Bryan apologized and explained he’d reached out to Lynch, and they were “all good.”
But now, it was Lynch’s turn to make an “epic introduction.”
“Last year, Luke Bryan introduced me on stage and it ended up making headlines back in the States,” Lynch said in a video posted on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon (January 23). “TMZ did not get it. Fox News didn’t get it. And I’ve had one whole year to think about how to do this.”
Bryan joined Lynch on stage in front of the cheering crowd, saying into the microphone, “I don’t f***ing deserve this.””
That’s when Lynch reveals that he “hired the best roaster of all time to roast (Bryan) in front of all these people.”
That roaster, comedian and actor Jeff Ross, appeared in a recorded message on screen. Hailed the “RoastMaster General,” Ross said, in part: “It’s an honor to introduce Luke Bryan, or as I like to call him, the other country singer on TV who wasn’t hot enough to marry Gwen Stefani,” he said as he showed a photo of Stefani and husband Blake Shelton.
Bryan and Lynch shared a high five on stage after Ross introduced the “Southern and Slow” star with a roast.
Bryan’s all-inclusive concert vacation included four nights of performances on a private stretch of the beach. Other artists who took the stage include Jon Pardi, Jelly Roll, Dierks Bentley, Eddie Montgomery, Ernest, Jon Langston and Mitchell Tenpenny, Ashley Cooke, Avery Anna, Lily Rose, Zach Top, Bailey Zimmerman and DJ Rock.
“I can’t think of a better way to kick off the year,” Bryan said in a statement. “Jon and Jelly Roll came out and just blew everyone away with their sets, and it was so fun to watch. On Saturday night I’m pretty sure I was having more fun than anyone out there! Being able to have a set list that is more off the cuff and spontaneous is one of my favorite nights on stage. Dierks and I always have fun singing together and then to top it with a legend like Eddie Montgomery was just something I have always wanted to do. I could not have asked for a better group of artists and friends to have down here with us.”