Business in the Front, Racism in the Back: Morgan Wallen Does Indeed Represent Country Music

By Joan Summers  |  February 3, 2021 | 7:02pm
EntertainmentMusic
Business in the Front, Racism in the Back: Morgan Wallen Does Indeed Represent Country Music
Image:Ed Rode (Getty Images)

On Tuesday, footage surfaced of “country music star” Morgan Wallen screaming the n-word, after what TMZ described as “a rowdy night with friends” over the weekend. He said lots of awful things I will not describe here, but I also don’t have to, because the country music world is doing it for me.

Maren Morris was the first, or at least the most public country star to tweet about Wallen’s racist tirade. After Wallen issued an “apology,” Morris responded: “We all know it wasn’t his first time using that word. We keep them rich and protected at all costs with no recourse” Soon, Cumulus Media, a massive radio chain, pulled his music from rotation, according to Variety. The New York Times also reports that Spotify and Apple Music removed his music from playlists, alongside the suspension of his contract by management company Big Loud.

Similar to Cumulus Media, iHeartMedia also disappeared Wallen’s music from circulation. Wallen then received similar treatment from CMT, the station which helped bolster his early career and recent album. In a statement obtained by the Times, CMT said: “We do not tolerate or condone words and actions that are in direct opposition to our core values that celebrate diversity, equity & inclusion.”

Seeming hypocrisy aside, considering the general state of white country music in America, Kelsea Ballerini tweeted:

It was obviously this tweet that Morris first responded to Tuesday night, when she wrote:

While country music sorts itself out, at least there is some small relief that nobody, not even his fans, will hear this loser’s music on the radio.

 
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