Morgan Wallen Suspended From Label, Axed From Country Music Stations For Racist Slur
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Country star Morgan Wallen’s music has been taken off the airwaves and his recording contract has been suspended after he was caught on video using a racist slur.
Wallen, who was swiftly cut from appearing on “Saturday Night Live” in October for breaking COVID-19 protocols, was filmed loudly shouting to a friend as he walked away from a vehicle in front of his Tennessee home on Sunday night. TMZ published the video Tuesday, leading to the career-derailing actions against the 27-year-old crooner, whose current album has been No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for three straight weeks.
As he walks to his front door, the video shows Wallen yelling:
“Hey, take care of this pussy ass motherfucker,” then repeating the phrase and adding a derogatory term for Black people. (Watch the video at the bottom.)
Wallen’s outburst followed a rowdy evening out with a few friends in Nashville, according to TMZ.
A doorbell camera reportedly caught footage of the group arriving at the “Dangerous” singer’s home around midnight, honking their horns and talking extremely loud. The antics prompted a neighbor to also begin recording, capturing Wallen yelling the profanities and slur.
Big Loud Label, which releases Wallen’s music with Republic Records, said in a statement Wednesday that it was suspending Wallen’s contract indefinitely.
“Republic Records fully supports Big Loud’s decision and agrees such behavior will not be tolerated,” the statement said.
Cumulus Media, the third-biggest U.S. radio station chain, after Entercom and iHeartMedia, has directed its more than 400 stations to drop Wallen’s music from playlists, per Variety. iHeartMedia also announced it would not play Wallen’s music, CNN reports.
In addition, CMT is removing Wallen’s content from its platforms, according to CNN.
“In light of Morgan Wallen’s recent actions involving the use of a racial slur, we have made the decision to remove his music and content from our stations effective immediately,” a rep for the company told CNN in a statement.
Wallen acknowledged his actions in a statement to TMZ.
“I’m embarrassed and sorry,” the star said. “I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back. There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using the word. I promise to do better.”
Country artist Mickey Guyton, who is Black, said she found the country music industry’s swift condemnation of Wallen’s actions somewhat insincere.
“When I read comments saying ‘this is not who we are’ I laugh because this is exactly who country music is,” Guyton tweeted Wednesday. “I’ve witnessed it for 10 gd years. You guys should just read some of the vile comments hurled at me on a daily basis. It’s a cold hard truth to face but it is the truth.”
I question on a daily basis as to why I continue to fight to be in an industry that seems to hate me so much. But then I realize there is a new artist of color, all bright eyed and excited to be in this industry.
— Mickey Guyton (@MickeyGuyton) February 3, 2021
Over the weekend, Billboard announced that Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album,” which was released last month, has stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for three weeks. The album, still at the top of the chart, is the first country album to top the list for that long in eight years.
See the video below:
Country singer Morgan Wallen was axed from SNL after he was caught on video partying maskless and kissing several women.
They rebooked him for three weeks later.
Now he’s been caught on video by a neighbor using the N-word. pic.twitter.com/qeVjQXt1CF— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) February 3, 2021
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
