What really happened. Hilary Duff’s musician fiancé, Matthew Koma, bashed his former friend and collaborator, Zedd (real name Anton Zaslavski), in a lengthy Instagram rant.
“I’m extremely proud of the work he and I did together,” Koma, 32, began the note on Wednesday, June 5. “Unfortunately my good feelings toward those songs have all but disappeared as they were experienced alongside someone so toxic and self serving that it occupied the space where any happiness could exist.”
The singer-songwriter, who penned several of the 29-year-old Russian-German producer’s hit songs, continued, “It’s not that dramatic of a story and it comes down to something simple. S—tty people suck and when they’re successful, people are afraid to blow the whistle.”
Koma explained that his issues with the “Stay the Night” DJ started “from the beginning.” The Winnetka Bowling League frontman provided several examples of Zedd’s alleged poor behavior, including taking “all the credit” for several of the songs they worked on together.
“[It] felt confusing because the millions of people who connected to ‘Clarity’ and those other songs, seemed to connect to the lyrics / emotion / melodies I had written,” Koma continued. “For years I thought maybe it was me, but over time I’d run into other people who worked with him — other writers / singers / producers / DJ’s / People on his own team…and the sentiment was shared. He’s the worst.”
As for whether the New York native and Zedd will ever join forces again in the future? “[I would] rather work at Starbucks and clean the toilets than ever experience that abusive dynamic again,” Koma concluded. “Toxicity doesn’t breed happiness. Alexa, play ‘Happy Now.’ Actually please don’t.”
Duff, 31, who got engaged to Koma in May, praised her fiancé’s openness. “This is so important for people who love the music to know,” the Lizzie McGuire alum commented. “Writers are taken advantage of, ignored, and mistreated. Proud of you for finally speaking up.” (Duff and Koma share daughter Banks, 7 months.)
Bebe Rexha also supported Koma’s words. “The unfortunate dark side of the music business,” she wrote in the comments section.
Koma was credited as a featured artist on Zedd’s 2012 track “Spectrum” and his 2014 tune “Find You.” The “Parachute” singer also cowrite Zedd’s Grammy Award-winning song, “Clarity,” and his 2015 hit “Addicted to a Memory.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Zedd’s rep for comment.
