Morgan Wallen’s guest appearance at the Grand Ole Opry over the weekend has stirred discussions over whether country music’s most historic stage is turning a blind eye to a racial slur he made almost a year ago.
In February 2021, a video surfaced of Wallen shouting the N-word while saying goodnight after a rowdy night with friends. Wallen’s label, Big Loud Records, suspended his contract, saying, “Such behavior will not be tolerated.”
Despite the initial backlash, Wallen’s songs returned to the airwaves, and his popularity topped the charts in 2021. He has released new music, including collaborations with rapper Lil Durk, who is black, and country artist ERNEST.
The Grand Ole Opry tweeted a photo of Wallen’s unannounced appearance alongside ERNEST, sparking a variety of responses from musical artists and fans on social media.
Surprise! @MorganWallen joins @ernest615 to perform their new duet “Flower Shops” ? pic.twitter.com/3UzRyC5gHd
— Grand Ole Opry (@opry) January 9, 2022
“Morgan Wallen’s thoughtless redemption tour is the nail in the coffin of me realizing these systems and this town is not really for us,” artist Joy Oladokun posted on Twitter.
morgan wallen’s thoughtless redemption tour is the nail in the coffin of me realizing these systems, and this town is really not for us.
imma keep making my lil music in my attic, y’all can listen if you want. i don’t know that i’ll do this work forever.
— Joy Oladokun (@joyoladokun) January 9, 2022
Grammy-winning artist Jason Isbell criticized the move for how it could silence future artists.
The thing that really upsets me is bigger than one person’s words. It’s the idea of a young Black artist walking into that venue and wondering if ANYBODY is on their side. What a lot of us consider to be a grand ole honor can be terrifying for some. Doesn’t have to be that way. https://t.co/pxtSQjimoG
— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) January 9, 2022
“It’s the idea of a young Black artist walking into that venue and wondering if ANYBODY is on their side,” Isbell wrote on Twitter. “What a lot of us consider to be a grand ole honor can be terrifying for some.”
“Do better @Opry,” one fan’s reply stated. “It’s past time [persons of color] are given a safe space in country music. You are stifling their voices with your choices.”
Another tweet praised the move and said, “Cancel culture is cancelled! Love MW!”
Artist RaeLynn told Spillover host Alex Clark that Wallen is a good person and that his success should not be a reason for discussion that points to racism in country music.
“I think that Morgan … is a really good person deep down, and he made a mistake,” RaeLynn said. “I knew that when his music started going to the next level, I knew that was going to be what they said.”
RaeLynn added that cancel culture is a fear preventing her from being real about who she is as someone with conservative beliefs.
“The fact that I’m scared speaks volumes about cancel culture because I literally released a song about my life, and I’m nervous for my fans to hear it,” RaeLynn said, referring to her song “She Chose Me” that contains an anti-abortion message.
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The Grand Ole Opry selects artists to become members based on their career success and has not extended such an invitation to Wallen.
