Chase Stokes Rebukes Fans Over Ballerini Song Speculation

Chase Stokes, the star of Netflix's Outer Banks, publicly rebuked fans for what he called "weird" comments under a recent TikTok video posted by his girlfriend, country singer Kelsea Ballerini. The post, shared over the weekend, featured Ballerini lip-syncing to her new track "People Pleaser" from her EP Mount Pleasant, released on November 14. Stokes' response came on November 17, as speculation swirled online about another song on the EP potentially referencing his former co-star and ex-girlfriend, Madelyn Cline.

In the comments section, viewers shifted focus from the promotional clip to "Emerald City," a vulnerable track where Ballerini sings about grappling with jealousy and insecurity toward her partner's past flame. Lyrics such as "Always liked the color of my eyes til I knew she had brown. I'm green" and references to the other woman's perceived promiscuity fueled theories that the song draws from Cline, who has brown eyes and dated Stokes from 2019 to 2021 while filming the series. One commenter noted the track highlights how "the most beautiful woman in the world can still have feelings of jealousy and insecurity," while others questioned whether Cline needed to...