Morgan Wallen to Fans: Don’t Defend Me - Rolling Stone

A week after being recorded on video using a racial slur, Morgan Wallen has issued a lengthy video statement in which he addresses the controversy, says he’s spoken to leaders in the black community, shares that he’s attempting to get sober, and admits that “my words matter.” He also delivered a message directly to fans who have been defending him: don’t.

“I have one favor to ask. I appreciate those who still see something in me and have defended me. But for today, please don’t. I was wrong. It’s on me to take ownership for this. And I fully accept any penalties I’m facing,” Wallen said in a video posted to Instagram Wednesday night, a week to the day after the country star lost radio and streaming support and had his record contract suspended indefinitely after video of him using the “n-word” appeared on TMZ.

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Wallen admitted it was time to address fans, his team, and the industry that has since rebuked him. “I’m long overdue to make a statement regarding my last incident. I wanted to collect my thoughts, seek some real guidance and come to you with a complete thought before I did,” Wallen said, going on to say that he was drunk in the video.

“You saw was me on hour 72 of a 72-hour bender. And that’s not something I’m proud of either. Obviously, the natural thing to do is to apologize further and just continue to apologize, because you got caught. And that’s not what I wanted to do,” he said. “Since that video was taken, I’ve been sober for nine days. It’s not all that long of time, but it’s enough to know the man in that video is not the man that I’m trying to be.”

Wallen also says he accepted invitations to meet with black organizations and executives. Last week, both the Nashville chapter of the NAACP and gospel singer BeBe Winans, an advisor to the performing-rights organization BMI, offered to speak with Wallen about the power of his words.

“I admit to you I was pretty nervous to accept those invitations,” Wallen said. “This week, I heard firsthand some personal stories from black people that honestly shook me. And I know what I’m going through this week doesn’t even compare to some of the trials I heard about from them.”

“Our actions matter, our words matter,” Wallen continued. “And I just want to encourage anyone watching to please learn from my mistakes.”

Read Wallen’s complete statement below:

Hey y’all, it’s Morgan. I’m long overdue to make a statement regarding my last incident. I wanted to collect my thoughts, seek some real guidance and come to you with a complete thought before I did. I was made aware of the video being posted to TMZ with hardly any time to think before it was released to the public. I was asked if I wanted to apologize, and of course, I did. I wrote many detailed thoughts and only a portion of those got used, which painted me in an even more careless light. I’m here to hopefully show you that that’s not the truth.

The video you saw was me on hour 72 of 72 of a bender. And that’s not something I’m proud of either. Obviously, the natural thing to do is to apologize further and just continue to apologize, because you got caught. And that’s not what I wanted to do.

I let so many people down, who mean a lot to me, who have given so much to me, and it’s just not fair. I let my parents down and they’re the furthest thing from the person in that video. I let my son down. I’m not OK with that.

So this week, I’ve been waiting to say anything further until I got the chance to apologize to those closest to me that I knew I personally hurt. I also accepted some invitations from some amazing black organizations, executives, and leaders to engage in some very real and honest conversations. I’ll admit to you I was pretty nervous to accept those invitations. The very people I hurt, they had every right to step on my neck while I was down … to not show me any grace, but they did the exact opposite. They offered me grace, and they also paired that with an offer to learn and to grow. And I’ll be honest, that kindness really inspired me to dig deeper now, on how to do something about this. And one thing I’ve learned already, I’m specifically sorry for, is that it matters, my words matter. A word can truly hurt a person and, in my core, it’s not what I’m OK with.

This week, I heard firsthand some personal stories from black people that honestly shook me. And I know what I’m going through this week doesn’t even compare to some of the trials I heard about from them. I came away from those discussions with a deep appreciation for them and a clearer understanding of the weight of my words. I wish the circumstances were different for me to learn these things, but I’m also glad it started the process for me to do so.

I’ve got many more things to learn but I already know that I don’t want to add to any division. This week was a big lesson that sometimes we can do just that without even knowing it. Our actions matter, our words matter. And I just want to encourage anyone watching to please learn from my mistakes. There’s no reason to downplay what I did. It matters. And please know I’m carefully choosing my next step to repair.

I want to end this update hopefully on a more positive note. Since that video was taken, I’ve been sober for nine days. It’s not all that long at the time, but it’s enough to know the man in that video is not the man that I’m trying to be. I’ve had this week to think about times when I’m sober and I’m really proud of who I am and my actions, for the most part, in those moments. When I look on the times that I’m not, it seems to be where the majority of my mistakes are made.

So I decided to go off the grid for a little while and get used to making good decisions. I want my team, my family, my friends, and even strangers to trust me. Hell, I want to trust me. Who knows if I’ll be able to live down all the mistakes I made, but I’m certainly going to try. I’m going to spend some time taking back control of my habit, living healthy and being proud of my actions.

And lastly, I have one favor to ask. I appreciate those who still see something in me and have defended me, but for today, please don’t. I was wrong. It’s on me to take ownership for this. And I fully accept any penalties I’m facing. The timing of my return is solely upon me and the work I put in. I still have a lot of really good people in my corner trying to help me and I appreciate them more than you know. I appreciate you more than you know. This entire situation is ugly right now, but I’ll keep searching for ways to become the example instead of being made one.

In closing, I’m not trying to be a holy roller or anything, but this week, I remembered a passage from Paul that always stood out to me. And I’m thinking maybe a moment like this is why. In first Corinthians 13-11, it says, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” That’s what I’m going to be doing for the next little bit. God bless.

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