Should We Forgive Morgan Wallen for His Racist Slur?

Darius Rucker believes it’s time to forgive Morgan Wallen for using a racist slur back in 2021.

“I think Morgan’s become a better person since that. I’ve known Morgan a long time. Since all that happened Morgan’s tried to really better himself and become a better person,” Rucker shared on the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast.

Despite Rucker’s readiness to forgive Wallen personally, he acknowledges that the broader music industry hasn’t followed suit.

“He’s still not part of CMAs and ACMs. They can say what they want, but the fact that Morgan Wallen is not up for Entertainer of the Year and those things is crazy. No one’s selling more tickets than Morgan,” Rucker stated.

In 2021, Wallen was caught on camera using a series of profanities, including the N-word.

Immediately after the clip surfaced, Wallen issued an apology, expressing his embarrassment and regret.

“I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back. 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 at the time.

Following the incident, Rucker admitted he was “shocked” upon hearing Wallen’s use of the N-word.

“I know Morgan and I like Morgan. It’s one of those things where you know that all over the country, there’s a lot of people who use that word just flippantly,” noted the Hootie & the Blowfish frontman on the People in the ’90s podcast.

“And even if they say they don’t mean it in a derogatory way, you just don’t use it. You don’t say it. It’s shocking how prevalent it is. Racism still exists. It lives strong in some people and it’s sad. It should be getting better and it’s getting worse,” Rucker added.

Source: Rolling Stone Music Now, People in the ’90s