Morgan Wallen issued a five-minute mea culpa Wednesday after video emerged of him using the N-word, blaming the entire thing on a drunken “bender.”
The 27-year-old country singer said he wanted to “collect my thoughts, seek some real guidance and come to you with a complete thought” before making a public apology.
“The video you saw was me on hour 72 of a 72-hour bender, and that’s not something I’m proud of,” he said.
“I let so many people down...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 OK with that.”
The “Whiskey Glasses” singer confirmed that he has been meeting with Black leaders “to engage in some very real and honest conversations,” after the NAACP publicly offered to meet with him last week.
“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.
“That kindness really inspired me to dig deeper on how to do something about this.”
Wallen said that he has now learned that “words matter.”
“I’ve got many more things to learn, but I already know that I don’t want to add to any division,” he said. “Our words matter and I just want to encourage anyone watching to please learn from my mistake. There’s no reason to downplay what I did. It matters.”
Wallen ended the video by announcing that he’s been sober for nine days and plans to take some time “off the grid.”
“I appreciate those who still see something in me and have defended me. But for today, please don’t. I was wrong. It’s on me. I take full ownership for this and I fully accept any penalties I’m facing,” he said.
“This entire situation is ugly right now, but I’ll keep searching for ways to become the example instead of being made one.”
Since the video emerged, Wallen has been “indefinitely” suspended from his label, Big Loud Records, and his songs were pulled from iHeartMedia, Cumulus Media, SiriusXM, Pandora and CMT.
The Academy of Country Music also announced that it will “halt” his “involvement and eligibility” at this year’s awards show.
