(CelebrityAccess) — Rising country star Morgan Wallen has been “suspended indefinitely” from his label after he was caught on camera using a racial slur.
In the video, posted on February 2nd by celebrity news site TMZ, Wallen can be seen bidding farewell to someone and suggesting they “take care of this pu**y ass n***er.”
After the video was published, Wallen released a statement to TMZ: “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.”
In the wake of the video, the country music industry was quick to respond, with his label Big Round Records stating that he was “indefinitely suspsended” but not dropped over the incidnet. The statement noted that Republic Records, which co-released Wallen’s album, supported the decision.
Country music broadcaster CMT also announced it planned to drop Wallen.
“After learning of Morgan Wallen’s racial slur late last night, we are in the process of removing his appearances from all our platforms. We do not tolerate or condone words and actions that are in direct opposition to our core values that celebrate diversity, equity & inclusion.”
Other platforms have pulled Wallen as well, including Cumulus Media, who sent a message to more than 400 radio stations instructing them to remove Wallen’s music from playlists, Variety reported.
The timing is awkward for Wallen and the country music industry at large. In January, Wallen released Dangerous: The Double Album, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and has spent three weeks there, the first country album to do so since Taylor Swift’s 2012 album Red.
The video is also the second misstep for Wallen in recent months. In October, he was dropped from a live appearance on the late night comedy show Saturday Night Live after he was caught on video partying in a crowded nightclub, violating the show’s virus safety protocols.
He apologized for that incident as well and appeared on a later episode of SNL in November.
