Morgan Wallen Has Been Officially Banned From The AMAs. Here's What We Know

Morgan Wallen is a country singer-songwriter hailing from Tennessee. He made his foray into the spotlight back in 2014 when he was discovered by Adam Levine on "The Voice," as per People. Despite not winning the singing competition, Wallen achieved what he showed up for: recognition. In an interview with People in 2019, the country star admitted that the "experience kind of kick-started [him] a little bit," adding, "... it was a big first step — I guess that's the first time in my life where I realized that maybe I actually have a shot at this." 

After his time on "The Voice," the "Cover Me Up" singer decided to take his talent and potential future music career seriously and spent time working on his singing and songwriting skills. He eventually signed with a label and released his debut single, "The Way I Talk," in 2016. It wasn't long before country music fans caught a whiff of the young star and his popularity shot up. According to Rolling Stone, by 2021, he was the US's most popular artist, and his album "Dangerous" racked up hundreds of thousands in album sales and billions of audio streams, making it the most popular album of the year. 

Despite his popularity, Wallen has made a number of public gaffes that have caused him to come under fire from the music industry and fans alike. One such incident that occurred earlier this year even got him banned from the American Music Awards. 

Back in February, TMZ broke the news that country star Morgan Wallen shouted the N-word after a night out drinking with friends in Nashville. A neighbor captured the moment on video as an unruly Wallen and his friends arrived home from their night out. In the video footage, the "Whiskey Glasses" artist could be heard telling one of his friends, "take care of this p****-ass n*****." During a follow-up statement to the news outlet, Wallen apologized, saying he was "embarrassed" for his actions. "I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back," Wallen added, saying he would "promise to do better."

Despite the country star's apology, he experienced plenty of fall-out after the incident, including getting banned from the American Music Awards, which will take place this November, as per Variety. While he was nominated for two awards, a statement emitted by MRC Live & Alternative explained that this was merely based on the singer's placement on the Billboard Charts, and made clear that they weren't ready to excuse his behavior. "As his conduct does not align with our core values, we will not be including him on the show in any capacity ...," the statement read. Wallen is up for favorite country album and favorite male country artist and could still very well win one or both of these awards. However, he won't be showing his face to accept them.