In Luke Bryan’s case, mother didn’t know best — but she heard first.
On “Ellen” Tuesday, host Ellen DeGeneres kidded the “American Idol” judge about a tabloid mixup that led to rumors he fathered a child with fellow country star Maren Morris. (Watch the clip below.)
The married Bryan erupted in laughter and settled into a funny anecdote.
“So, I’m having coffee, and my mother calls me and she goes, ‘I’m sitting here reading some gossip thing,’ which I don’t know how she subscribes to an online gossip thing anyway,” he said. “And then she goes, ‘It says you fathered Maren Morris’ child.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh. I do not need this today.’”
Bryan forwarded the article to Morris’ husband, Ryan Hurd, who happened to write his song “Waves.” “And I said, ‘Buddy, I think we need to talk,’” Bryan recalled.
Given the opportunity to squelch the scuttlebutt forever on daytime TV, Bryan did not waste it.
“I am not the father,” he said. “We can call Maury Povich or however y’all want to go about it.”
Povich, of course, is a host known for administering paternity tests on his show.
Bryan hit the rumor mill grind when the Sun last month erroneously wrote that Morris had welcomed a child with “husband” Bryan last year, E! reported.The Sun corrected the error.
Morris had fun with the obvious mistake. “I guess the cat’s outta the bag @lukebryan,” she wrote on an Instagram Story.