Despite missing out on a Country Music Association award and being barred from the awards show in Nashville on Wednesday night, Morgan Wallen says he’s “blessed.”
Just minutes after failing to win the CMA’s album of the year award, the controversial country music star — who has been embroiled in a racial slur scandal — took to Twitter.
“I wake up every morning and thank the Lord for my blessings. Tomorrow morning will be no different. I love y’all,” the 28-year-old tweeted to his 534,000 followers, brushing off his loss.
Wallen was denied entry to the glitzy CMA Awards ceremony, but his sophomore album, “Dangerous,” was nominated for album of the year.
The crooner’s album “Dangerous” had the highest sales among those nominated, but Chris Stapleton’s album “Starting Over” won.
After his ban from the CMA Awards was announced last week, Wallen took a shot at the show.
On Twitter, he wrote, “PSA: Everyone is welcome to attend my shows.”
Since February, when TMZ published video of the country singer drunkenly telling a friend to “take care of this p–y-ass n—a” after a night out in Nashville, the star has been under fire. Later, he apologised for the slur, claiming that the video was taken on “hour 72 of a 72-hour bender.”
Following the scandal, Wallen was dropped from the WME talent agency. CMT removed his videos, and the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association both barred him from performing at their award shows. Despite the fact that his label, Big Loud Records, “suspended” his contract in February, the ban was lifted in May.
Following the racial slur scandal, Wallen’s album sales skyrocketed.
But this isn’t the first time he’s been chastised. In fact, the country singer has a history of making headlines for the wrong reasons.
He was fired from “Saturday Night Live” in October 2020 after a video of him in a bar without a mask surfaced during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Tennessee native was arrested in May 2020 outside Kid Rock’s bar in Nashville for public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
Meanwhile, this year’s CMA Awards were particularly diverse, with a number of artists of colour winning awards and performing onstage.
After Darius Rucker 12 years ago, Jimmie Allen became only the second black artist to win new artist of the year, and he performed a rousing rendition of his track “Freedom Was a Highway.” On the CMA stage, Jennifer Hudson and Mickey Guyton also performed.
The show also made history when it featured the first-ever same-sex kiss.
TJ Osborne, who only came out nine months ago, smooched his boyfriend Abi Ventura in front of the entire audience and cameras after sibling crooners TJ and John won vocal duo of the year.
