The legendary singer of the 90s said he forgives Morgan Wallen for using racist slur

July 5, 2024

It’s been nearly three years since Morgan Wallen was caught on video uttering a racial slur – and singer Darius Rucker, known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of Hootie & the Blowfish, said he’s ready to forgive the country singer, although he’s not sure the rest of the country music community has yet.

In 2021, TMZ obtained video of Wallen and his friends at a party in Tennessee, where he can be heard saying the N-word: “Hey, take care of that p—–ass, motherf—–“. … Take care of that p—–ass, n—–,” Wallen is heard saying.

This moment led to his music label, Big Loud Label, suspending Wallen’s contract indefinitely.

In a recent episode of the podcast “Rolling Stone Music Now” with Brian Hiatt, Rucker said he has known Wallen for a long time and believes he has “become a gentler person” since the incident.

He added that the rest of the country music industry has not yet fully forgiven Wallen: “And you know, he’s not forgiven yet… Morgan is still not ready for CMAs and ACMs.”

“They can say what they want, but the fact that Morgan Wallen isn’t nominated for Entertainer of the Year and stuff like that is crazy because nobody sold more tickets than Morgan,” Rucker told Hiatt. “Maybe Luke Combs is right up there. But they play in stadiums, man.”

“But that’s society. What I think doesn’t matter,” Rucker added. “People form their own opinions and stick to them. And that’s what it is.”

Wallen was suspended indefinitely by his label and his music was also removed from the radio at this time.

Months after the scandal, Wallen appeared on “Good Morning America” and revealed that he and his friends were drunk, which prompted him to make the insult. Shortly thereafter, he checked himself into rehab.

Wallen spoke to black leaders and pledged $500,000 to black organizations like the Black Music Action Coalition, and donated another $300,000 to people who helped him during this tumultuous time.

In an interview with Billboard last year, Wallen said there was “no excuse” for what he did and he continues to learn from what happened.

READ MORE: Country superstar arrested in Nashville bar for throwing chair off roof

Although Wallen continues to work on restoring his image, he has made some mistakes, including being arrested earlier this year for allegedly throwing a chair off the roof of a bar.

Wallen is currently on his “One Night At A Time” tour and the Post Malone song “I Had Some Help,” which Wallen features on, is currently topping the charts.

READ MORE: Country star gives advice to Morgan Wallen after his arrest

Meanwhile, Rucker is on tour with Hootie & the Blowfish. During the tour, they will perform not once but twice in New Jersey, on August 2 in Holmdel and on August 16 in Camden.