Chase Stokes is speaking up after fans flooded Kelsea Ballerini’s comment section with remarks dragging him into the conversation.
Ballerini dropped her new EP, Mount Pleasant, on Friday and later shared a TikTok promoting the track People Pleaser. In the clip, the 32-year-old singer appears in a glamorous red dress and bold lip while singing along — but the comments quickly shifted focus to Stokes.
Stokes, 33, who recently reunited with Ballerini two months after their split, stepped in to call out the negativity. “These comments are f—ing weird,” he wrote. “Grow up.”
His reaction appeared to be aimed at fans name-checking both him and his Outer Banks costar and ex-girlfriend, Madelyn Cline. One commenter claimed that an Outer Banks fan had been posting old photos of Stokes and Cline on Ballerini’s posts and urging others to do the same, prompting Stokes to intervene: “OBX fans were posting nonsense and Chase called them out so they deleted it,” the fan said.
Tension escalated when another user wrote, “So now it’s ok for Kelsea to be calling Madelyn a red flag and how she goes around to many [guys]. Wow, I’m sure Madelyn is pissed at you both, Chase and Kelsea. Idiots.”
That reaction seemed tied to the lyrics of Emerald City, a new track in which Ballerini reflects on jealousy toward another woman who “got around” and is “pretty,” leading fans to speculate the song references Cline.
Stokes’ appearance in the comments follows his recent reunion with Ballerini in Dubrovnik, Croatia, where Outer Banks has been filming.
Earlier an onlooker told People magazine the two were “holding hands…and talking closely” during dinner before strolling “hand in hand towards Old Town.”
The pair, who split in September after nearly three years together, previously addressed public speculation when Ballerini urged fans to “let us be, please” in a September TikTok responding to ongoing chatter about their breakup.
