Taylor Swift’s latest merch drop left country artist Aaron Lewis stunned after pages from his upcoming album turned up shredded as packing material inside fans’ orders.
“Oh look, there’s my new album, that hasn’t even been released yet, shredded as packaging paper in Taylor Swift merch,” the Staind frontman wrote on X on Thursday. “Ain’t that some s—.”
Lewis was responding to a fan’s unboxing video, which showed the fan, confused, piecing together shredded paper that revealed the cover of Lewis’ unreleased record “Give Me Back My Country.”
Fans who ordered Swift’s new “I Knew It, I Knew You” CD collection initially thought the shredded pages contained hidden Swift lyrics.
Instead, Swifties on social media realized the paper featured lyrics, artwork and album pages from Lewis’ upcoming album, which isn’t due out until July 17 through Big Machine Label Group, Swift’s former label, with the merch handled by Universal Music Group.
Lewis said he first learned about the mix-up from his team because he doesn’t use social media.
“I don’t have any social media. I didn’t have it when I was younger. It’s never felt important to me,” he told USA Today.
“I never even had a MySpace. So I don’t see anything of that type of stuff. And when this was brought to me, I was just like, ‘What is going on? This is just weird.’”
The “Country Boy” singer said he couldn’t believe fans had received pieces of an album that hasn’t even hit stores yet.
“That’s the cover to my brand new record that hasn’t even been put out yet,” he said.
“As artists, we put our trust in the distribution companies to get our material way up front and trust that they’ll be responsible with what it is that we give them.”
Lewis, whose music has become more conservative since his early nu-metal years in Staind, said he has no explanation for how the album materials wound up as packing filler.
“I don’t know how this happened,” he admitted. “I hate to think it’s malicious, but at the same time, I don’t know that it’s not.”
“I haven’t even put the record out yet,” he continued. “It’s not like it’s old stuff that was just sitting around that they decided to make packing material out of. It’s my new record. I just don’t understand how something like that can happen.”
Lewis previously met Swift during a Nashville event in 2016 when they were both affiliated with Big Machine and said he doesn’t blame the Grammy winner for the packaging mistake.
“We live in two very, very different worlds. And she’s such a huge star that her world doesn’t intertwine with anyone’s worlds,” he said.
“I certainly wouldn’t be trying to bring her into this or blame her for anything. It just so happens that it was my record cover in her gift box for her fans.”
He also insisted he isn’t looking to capitalize on the attention surrounding the mishap.
“I don’t want people to think that this was an opportunity to promote my new record,” Lewis said.
“I don’t understand how a shredded-up copy of my new record’s art ended up in a Taylor Swift gift box for her fans.”
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