Country star Morgan Wallen apologized again in an Instagram video on Thursday for a video that surfaced last week in which he used the N-word. Wallen’s use of the racial slur came several days after he was cut from Saturday Night Live because a video surfaced in which he was partying while defying COVID protocols. Radio stations and sponsors have dumped him.
Wallen said he was on a “72-hour bender” in the days leading up to his use of the slur and said it was “not something I’m proud of either.”
Said Wallen: “I’ve accepted some invitations from some amazing Black organizations, some executives and leaders to engage in some very real and honest conversations. I’ll admit to you I was pretty nervous to accept those invitations. They had every right to step on my neck while I was down, to not show me any grace. But they did the exact opposite — they offered me grace, and they also paired that with an offer to learn and to grow.”
“One thing I’ve learned already [and] is specifically sorry for is that it matters my words matter,” Wallen added. “A word can truly hurt a person and in my core, it’s not what I’m okay with. [I’ve heard] firsthand some personal stories from Black people that honestly shook me. I know what I’m going through this week doesn’t even compare to some of the trials I heard about from them. I came away from those discussions with a deep appreciation for them and a clear understanding of the weight of my words. I wish the circumstances were different for me to learn these things, but I’m also glad it started the process for me to do so.”
TMZ reports that Wallen’s apology hasn’t swayed radio: “Sources at Entercom — which owns 235 radio stations, 20 of which are country music stations — tell TMZ … the company has no plans to reinstate Wallen’s music to their playlists. Likewise, a rep for Emmis Communications tells us its country-programmed station in Indianapolis — Hank FM — is likeminded … it’s a Wallen-free zone for the time being.”
