Country Star Morgan Wallen Dropped By Radio Stations For Using N-Word
Country music star Morgan Wallen has been dropped from more than 400 US radio stations after footage emerged of him saying the N-word.
In a video reportedly filmed by a neighbour earlier this week, Wallen, who’s album Dangerous has been the Number 1 record in the United States for the past three weeks in a row, can apparently be heard shouting the racial slur as he says goodbye to friends after a night out.
The Nashville singer can be heard shouting other profanities before uttering the racial slur. In a statement to TMZ, Wallen said he was ’embarrassed and sorry’ about the video, adding, ‘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 apologise for using the word. I promise to do better.’
Wallen quickly saw his songs removed from radio station playlists across the country, with Cumulus Media – a network responsible for more than 400 stations – confirming in a directive issued to staff that ‘effective immediately we request that all of Morgan Wallen’s music be removed from our playlists without exception,’ BBC News reports.
His tracks also appear to have been taken off various playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.
Other country music stars were quick to condemn Wallen’s actions, with singer Kelsea Ballerini tweeting ‘The news out of Nashville tonight does not represent country music.’
a year agoHowever, other stars criticised the country music industry as a whole, saying labels and artists did not do enough to stamp out the kind of racism exhibited by Wallen.
Maren Morris wrote: ‘It actually IS representative of our town because this isn’t his first ‘scuffle’ and he just demolished a huge streaming record last month regardless. We all know it wasn’t his first time using that word. We keep them rich and protected at all costs with no recourse.’
Grammy-nominated Black country music star Mickey Guyton also called out people who dismissed Wallen’s actions as an isolated incident, revealing her own experience of racism in the country music. ‘I’ve witnessed it for 10 gd years.’ she tweeted. ‘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.’
This latest incident comes four months after Wallen was dropped from an episode of Saturday Night Live after being filmed breaking COVID-19 protocols by partying without a mask and kissing various women at a party in Alabama.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact Stop Hate UK by visiting their website www.stophateuk.org/talk
Topics: Music, Country Music, Racism
