Country Singer Morgan Wallen’s Career Stumbles, Then Soars After Racial Slur Backlash

Morgan Wallen’s career is feeling a resurgence as his sales soar following the backlash for a recording of his use of a racial slur. The Voice alum has seen his sales jump 1,220% between last Tuesday and Wednesday.

Big Loud, Wallen’s record label since 2016, has suspended his contract indefinitely via a statement from their social media. The record label’s partner, Republic Records, has given their full support to Big Loud’s decision. Nevertheless, the country singer’s sophomore album remains on the top of the Billboard 200 chart for the fourth week in a row.

This is not the first time Wallen has come under fire for his poor behavior. Wallen was arrested for disorderly conduct in a bar in May of 2020. In October 2020, Saturday Night Live dropped his performance from their lineup following photos of him partying without a mask, kissing multiple women, and violating social distancing guidelines during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since the controversy began, Wallen has apologized for the incident. Other media companies, including CMT and iHeartRadio, have removed Wallen from their playlists.

Fan reactions, particularly on Twitter, have been mixed. Numerous fans have tweeted out support that he should have performed the most recent Super Bowl Halftime Show. Twitter user @SierraMichaela tweeted, “I love Morgan Wallen with my whole heart and that is all, goodnight.” Conversely, user @reesarennirt tweeted, “The amount of people giving Morgan Wallen MORE support is weirding me out.” Meanwhile, Wallen’s official Twitter account remains verified and still boasts nearly 469 thousand followers.

Some users have noticed a disconnect between cancel culture, record sales, and racial double standards. Twitter user @thats_naomi tweeted, “okay but seriously, the fact that morgan wallen’s album is still number one on itunes is just disgusting. cancel culture doesn’t exist for racist white people i guess.”

As of now, the incident shows few signs of genuinely harming Morgan Wallen’s career.