KFAL The Big 900 Classic Country
ABCNashville’s Big Loud label, which releases Morgan Wallen’s music in conjunction with Republic Records, has suspended the singer’s contract indefinitely, according to a social media statement posted on Wednesday morning.
The decision comes “in wake of recent events,” according to the statement. Morgan came under fire when video footage obtained by TMZ Tuesday night showed him shouting the N-word and other racial slurs while partying.
The singer subsequently apologized in a statement issued to ABC News. “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,” Wallen said.
Meanwhile, many others in the country community, including Mickey Guyton and Maren Morris, began to call for the genre to hold Morgan accountable for his behavior.
Also on Wednesday, CMT announced via Facebook that they are “in the process of removing his appearances from all of our platforms,” adding that the singer’s words and actions “are in direct opposition to our core values that celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion.”
Big Loud’s Wednesday morning statement also said that Republic Records is in agreement with their decision to suspend Morgan’s contract. “Republic Records fully supports Big Loud’s decision and agrees such behavior will not be tolerated,” the statement added.
Several national radio ownership groups have also removed Wallen’s music from their stations’ playlists in response to the incident.
Reps for the singer had no additional comment as of Wednesday morning.
— Big Loud (@BigLoud) February 3, 2021
By Carena Liptak
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