'I’m really not that guy': Morgan Wallen breaks silence on controversy that almost ended his career
SNEEDVILLE, TENNESSEE: Country superstar Morgan Wallen broke his silence after two years of controversy that almost ruined his lucrative career.
He admitted that he used the n-word in a video that was secretly recorded by a neighbor as he shouted to a friend after a night of drinking.
'I’m not that guy': Morgan Wallen opens up about n-word scandal
He said he never tried to justify his actions and apologized sincerely. “There’s no excuse. I’ve never made an excuse. I never will make an excuse,” Wallen told Billboard.
“I put myself in just such a s**t spot, you know? Like, ‘You really messed up here, guy,’” he said.
He added, "If I was that guy, then I wouldn’t have cared. I wouldn’t have apologized. I wouldn’t have done any of that if I really was that guy that people were saying about me.”
Morgan Wallen said he is learning from Black leaders and groups
He said, “I’ve talked to a lot of people, heard stories [about] things that I would have never thought about because I wasn’t the one going through it."
"And I think, for me, in my heart I was never that guy that people were portraying me to be, so there was a little bit of like, 'Damn, I’m kind of actually mad about this a little bit because I know I shouldn’t have said this, but I’m really not that guy," he added.
Wallen referred his meeting to several Black leaders and organizations such as 300 Elektra Entertainment chairman and CEO Kevin Liles.
He also met Universal Music Group executive VP and chief people and inclusion officer Eric Hutcherson, gospel artist Bebe Winans, as well as Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC) and other groups, as per Variety. He said the process “to learn and try to be better” is ongoing.
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'That person is definitely not the same person I am now', said Morgan Wallen
He also said that the incident which came after he was caught violating Covid social-distancing rules in another 2021 video made him realize the impact of his words.
“That person is definitely not the same person I am now,” he said.
Giving back to the community, the article which featured Wallen on the cover of Billboard’s year-end issue, also highlighted his chart-topping 2023. He had the top single of the year with 'Last Night' and dominated 12 of the publications 28 year-end country charts.
Morgan Wallen says he supports Black culture and music
He also donated $500,000 to various organizations that support Black culture and music such as The National Museum of African American Music, Rock Against Racism and the BMAC.
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He also set up a foundation that helps underprivileged communities through music and sports programs. He said that three dollars from every concert ticket he sells goes to the foundation which has given over $1 million in 2023, including $100,000 to the Atlanta Braves Foundation and $500,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville.
