Morgan Wallen Has Something To Say To His Fans
Morgan Wallen opened up to his 2.2 million Instagram followers in a five-minute video where he apologized for using a racial slur and told fans not to defend him. "I'm long overdue to make a statement regarding my last incident," Wallen began, referring to a video posted by TMZ, in which he used the N-word. "I wanted to collect my thoughts, seek some real guidance and come to you with a complete thought before I did."
The country singer, who claims he has now been sober for nine days, revealed that the controversial video captured him "on hour 72 of a bender," and that he was not proud of that fact. "I let so many people down," Wallen said. "I let my parents down and they're the furthest thing from ... the person in that video. I let my son down, and I'm not okay with that." He also urged his listeners not to defend him, stating, "I was wrong. It's on me, and I fully accept any penalties I'm facing. The timing of my return is solely upon me and the work I put in."
As NME reported, the incident led to his record company, Big Loud Records, suspending him. As a collaborator on Wallen's song "Cover Me Up," songwriter Jason Isbell also announced on Twitter that he would be donating any money he made from Wallen's recent album to the Nashville NAACP. Yet, despite radio stations and playlists dropping the album, Wallen's music still saw a giant boost in sales following the video's release per NME.
Morgan Wallen has been working with Black organizations to 'learn and grow'
Morgan Wallen also spoke about how he plans to make amends, revealing that he had "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," he said. "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." The musician explained that their "kindness really inspired me to dig deeper on how to do something about this," and that he had learned how "a word can truly hurt a person, and at my core, that's not what I'm OK with."
"This week I heard firsthand some personal stories from Black people that honestly shook me," Wallen continued. "I came away from those discussions with a deep appreciation for them and a clearer understanding of the weight of my words."
"There's no reason to downplay what I did. It matters and please know I'm carefully choosing my next steps in repair," he added. Finally, Wallen announced that he would go off-the-grid for a while. "I want my team, my family, my friends, and even strangers to trust me," he explained. "Hell, I wanna trust me. Who knows if I'll be able to live down all the mistakes I've made, but I'm certainly going to try."