Morgan Wallen is one of the biggest names in country music, but he has faced a lot of scandals since joining the music industry. The singer had his first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 list in March 2023 with his song "Last Night." He has also preformed at several music award shows, including the Billboard Music Awards in May 2023. Though his success seems to be on the upward trajectory, three scandals in particular almost caused him to lose it all.
When Wallen first entered the music industry, he made it clear that he was not following anyone else's rules. He played by his own drum, but it almost cost him. Wallen's carefree attitude during the global pandemic lost him an appearance on Saturday Night Live, and the use of a racial slur nearly shut down his career altogether.
Why Was Morgan Wallen Arrested?
Morgan Wallen was first introduced to the world on the hit singing competition show The Voice in 2014. Though he was eliminated early on in the show's sixth season, that did not stop Wallen from finding success elsewhere.
Wallen, who used to date Paige Lorenze, rose in popularity due to songs such as "Whiskey Glasses" and "Wasted on You."
The singer let fame get the best of him, because on May 23rd, 2020 Wallen was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee.
Wallen had been kicked out of Kid Rock's bar in Nashville and was charged with public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
While in other corners of the entertainment industry, this arrest may have caused waves, country music fans were hardly fazed. Many country songs are about drinking, so the fact that Wallen had over served himself seemed rather normal. He continued to be just as successful as he was before the arrest.
The charges were eventually dropped and fans moved on from the scandal.
Why Saturday Night Live Canceled Morgan Wallen's Appearance
While the rest of the world was hunkering down due to the global pandemic, Morgan Wallen was out partying. Specifically, Wallen was partying without a mask and without social distancing.
People who are close to Wallen claim the country singer has a big heart, but some fans find that hard to believe considering his actions during this hard time.
In early October 2020, a video surfaced of Morgan Wallen in a crowded bar drinking and making out with numerous women. The scene occurred in Alabama, a state which, at the time, had a statewide mask and social distancing mandate. Though his previous scandal of being arrested caused the country music singer no heartache, this time around things were different.
The night of partying occurred about a week before Wallen was set to make his first musical appearance on the hit comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live. With the global pandemic going on, the entertainment industry had very strict rules about social distancing and guest appearances.
On October 7th, 2020, Saturday Night Live announced that they had decided to cancel Wallen's appearance on the show.
Shortly after, Wallen announced himself that he would no longer be headlining the Rome River Jam festival in Georgia. Though it is unclear if the decision was his own, it likely had everything to do with his attitude towards the pandemic.
Lee Brice replaced him at the Rome River Jam festival.
Wallen went on to appear in a later episode of Saturday Night Live, and he poked fun at this scandal during a sketch.
Morgan Wallen Canceled For Using A Racial Slur
By far Morgan Wallen's biggest scandal, and the scandal that is still causing fallout, occurred in early February 2021.
On February 2nd of that year, TMZ released a video showing Wallen using a racial slur to address a friend while entering his home in Nashville, Tennessee.
"I'm embarrassed and sorry," the country singer told TMZ at the time. "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."
Wallen was essentially canceled by the music industry following the release of this video.
Radio stations across the United States pulled his music. Wallen's songs were also removed from streaming services, including Apple Music and Spotify. His record label Big Loud, which is in association with Republic Records, suspended their contract indefinitely.
Even months later in October 2021, Wallen was banned from attending the American Music Awards. He was nominated for two awards, but unable to attend the event.
"Morgan Wallen is a nominee this year based on charting," producers said in reference to banning the country music star. "As his conduct does not align with our core values, we will not be including him on the show in any capacity (performing, presenting, accepting)."
Is Morgan Wallen Canceling His Tour?
It has taken Morgan Wallen nearly two years to get back on top. He did preform at the Billboard Music Awards in 2022, during which host Diddy ceremoniously "uncanceled" him. Wallen only recently had his first number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 list with his song "Last Night."
Though he has seemingly worked past the scandal, Wallen is certainly still in rough waters. He recently had to cancel several performances due to losing his voice. One show in particular was canceled only moments before Wallen was set to take the stage, and the last minute cancelation caused some legal issues for the venue.
The sad news of cancelation only gets worse for fans. It now seems Wallen's tour will be much shorter than initially planned.
Wallen reportedly re-injured his vocal cords, causing vocal fold trauma. Doctors told the singer that he must be on vocal rest, which means his current tour is put on pause. Currently, he has canceled six weeks of shows.
It seems Wallen will always be a controversial entertainer, but fans continue to stand by him despite the scandals that almost ended his career.
