Morgan Wallen suspended by label 'indefinitely’ after video shows him using racial slur
"I’m embarrassed and sorry," the country singer said in a statement.
Country singer Morgan Wallen's record label has suspended him "indefinitely" after a video surfaced of him using a racial slur.
A video of the "Dangerous" singer shouting vulgarities was obtained and released by TMZ on Tuesday. The video was taken Sunday night, according to the outlet.
Following the video's release, Wallen's label, Big Loud Records, announced they have suspended his contract.
“In the wake of recent events, Big Loud Records has made the decision to suspend Morgan Wallen’s contract indefinitely,” the statement reads. "Republic Records fully supports Big Loud’s decision and agrees such behavior will not be tolerated.”
iHeartMedia also confirmed to "Good Morning America" that it removed Wallen's music from its stations.
Radio network Entercom also removed his music from its playlists.
"In light of Morgan Wallen’s recent use of a racial slur, we’ve discussed the incident with our Country brand leadership team and together have made the decision to remove Morgan’s music from Entercom’s playlists," an Entercom spokesperson told "GMA."
Wallen issued an apology Wednesday about the video. "I’m embarrassed and sorry. 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," the singer said in a statement obtained by "GMA."
The fallout from Wallen's actions was swift online as well, as some of Wallen's fellow country singers called out his behavior -- most notably, Black country singer Mickey Guyton.
Guyton, who made Grammys history in 2020 when she became the first Black female solo artist to ever be nominated in a country category, claimed that this isn't the first time Wallen was caught saying that racial epithet in public.
"The hate runs deep," Guyton remarked when responding to the now-viral clip on Twitter, adding that it makes her shake her head.
In another tweet, Guyton claimed, "This is not his first time using that 'unacceptable' racial slur and we all known that. So what exactly are y’all going to do about it. Crickets won’t work this time."
In a follow up statement, the "Black Like Me" singer asked, "How many passes will you continue to give? Asking for a friend. No one deserves to be canceled [but] this is unacceptable."
Country singer Maren Morris, who is from Nashville, also tweeted a statement. Although she did not directly name Wallen in her tweet, many connected the message to him.
"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," she wrote.