After fans posted billboards around Nashville expressing support for him, country music star Morgan Wallen broke his months-long silence Tuesday to say he has grown since the incident that crippled his thriving music career.
Wallen was pulled from various platforms in February after a video showed him using the N-word to refer to a white person after a drunken night out with friends. Though Wallen apologized profusely at the time, he apologized again this week with a hand-written note that he shared on social media.
“I have felt a lot of love lately from so many people I haven’t gotten to know yet,” Wallen said in the note. “I know my corner hasn’t been the most popular one to stand in recently, but many of you did anyway.”
After reflecting on his many trials and tribulations throughout 2020 and 2021, Wallen said he has been seeking to make amends.
“I wanted to let you guys know that I’ve taken a couple months away and feel like I’ve really worked on myself. I’m proud of the work I’ve put in and in many ways thankful to have had the time to do it. I’ve needed this time off,” he said
“I found this time away to be very valuable to me in many ways, but I feel like I need a little more of it and therefore will not be performing tour dates this summer,” he later added.
— morgan wallen (@MorganWallen) April 13, 2021
Morgan issued his letter on the same week that at least six billboards honoring Wallen were erected in downtown Nashville. The billboards featured an outline of Wallen’s face while bearing the message: “His Fan’s Choice Entertainer of the Year. Support that boy from ‘East Tennessee!’”
As The Daily Wire reported in February, SiriusXM, Pandora, CMT, iHeartRadio and many others pulled Morgan Wallen’s music after a neighbor recorded him drunkenly referring to a white friend as the N-word.
Wallen’s music was first pulled by Cumulus Media. The country music heavyweight sent a directive to all of its 400-plus stations to remove Wallen’s songs from their playlists “effective immediately,” Variety reported.
iHeartRadio, Entercom, cable network CMT, satellite service SiriusXM, and streaming service Pandora have all also removed the 27-year-old’s songs. Variety noted that Wallen’s music is not currently appearing on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, too. Nashville-based label Big Loud has suspended their contract with Wallen “indefinitely.”
Wallen was also disqualified from playing at the Country Music Awards.
“I’m embarrassed and sorry,” Wallen 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.”
Despite the total de-platforming of his career, Wallen’s music sales continued to soar.
Related: Billboards Supporting Morgan Wallen Pop-Up Around Nashville
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