Morgan Wallen Says His Use Of A Racial Slur Was ‘Playful’ In His First Post-Controversy Interview

Morgan Wallen was a crossover country star on the rise thanks to his 2021 sophomore album Dangerous: The Double Album: The album topped all-genres Billboard 200 chart and he booked a gig as Saturday Night Live musical guest. Then, it happened: He was filmed using a racial slur. While his album continued to break chart records despite the controversy, the singer remained on the bad sides of many. Now, he has addressed the whole situation on Good Morning America, sitting with Michael Strahan today for his first interview since everything went down.

Strahan asked Wallen if his use of the word happened out of “nowhere,” and Wallen explained, “No, I don’t think it just happened. I was around some of my friends and, you know, we just say dumb stuff together. It was… in our minds, it’s playful, you know? I don’t know if… that sounds ignorant, but that’s really where it came from, and it’s wrong.”

Strahan then suggested the word is one Wallen uses “frequently,” and Wallen responded, “I wouldn’t say frequently, no. Not frequently. It was just around this certain group of friends, I would say.” He went on to note that as for his use of it in the video, he “didn’t mean it in any derogatory manner at all.”

When asked what made him think the word was ever appropriate for him to use, Wallen said after a pause, “I’m not sure. I think I was just ignorant about it. I don’t think I sat down and was like, ‘Hey, is this right or is this wrong?'”

Elsewhere during the conversation, he revealed that he spent 30 days in rehab following the incident and noted that he donated the money from his increased album sales to Black organizations.

Watch the full interview here and check out clips from it above and below.