Aaron Lewis has publicly addressed the unexpected appearance of his unreleased album cover shredded and used as packaging material in a Taylor Swift merchandise box. The Staind frontman shared a fan's unboxing video on social media platform X, where a recipient discovered pieces of the artwork for Lewis' upcoming album, "Give Me Back My Country," inside a Swift fan box.
"Oh look, there’s my new album, that hasn’t even been released yet, shredded as packaging paper in Taylor Swift merch," Lewis wrote on X. "Ain’t that some s---". The album is slated for release on July 17.
Lewis stated that he was unaware of the incident until his team informed him. "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.'"
He further explained the significance of the artwork, saying, "That’s the cover to my brand new record that hasn’t even been put out yet. 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 expressed uncertainty about how the mix-up occurred, admitting, "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. It’s not like its 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."
Despite the unusual circumstances, Lewis emphasized that he holds no ill will toward Swift, acknowledging their vastly different levels of fame. "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."
Lewis also stated his desire to avoid the situation being perceived as a promotional tactic for his new album. "I don’t want people to think that this was an opportunity to promote my new record," he stated. "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."
Representatives for Big Machine Label Group and Universal Music Group, reportedly involved in product management and merchandising, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.