- Big Loud Records suspended
Morgan Wallen 's recording contract "indefinitely" on Wednesday. - The country star was caught on video using the N-word, as reported by TMZ on Tuesday.
- Wallen's "Dangerous" recently topped the Billboard 200 for a third straight week.
Big Loud Records announced it would suspend Morgan Wallen's recording contract "indefinitely" on Wednesday, one day after TMZ published a video of the country star using the N-word.
Republic Records, which partnered with Big Loud to distribute Wallen's music, backed the decision with a statement on Twitter.
"Such behavior will not be tolerated," the statement reads.
—Republic Records (@RepublicRecords) February 3, 2021
According to TMZ, Wallen was returning home Sunday night with a group of friends when neighbors heard him yelling a series of comments to a man who was with him. A neighbor who heard the commotion filmed the incident.
Wallen can be heard on the video calling his friend a "motherf---er," before going on to say, "take care of this p---- a-- n-----."
"I'm embarrassed and sorry," Wallen told TMZ in a statement. "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."
Shortly after the video was published, iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media - the two largest radio station groups in the country - pulled Wallen's songs from rotation.
CMT also took a stand against Wallen's behavior.
"After learning of Morgan Wallen's racial slur late last night, we are in the process of removing his appearances from all our platforms," the country-music cable network announced on Twitter. "We do not tolerate or condone words and actions that are in direct opposition to our core values that celebrate diversity, equity & inclusion."
—CMT (@CMT) February 3, 2021
Wallen's 30-track sophomore album, "Dangerous," recently topped the Billboard 200 for its third consecutive week. He was featured as Billboard's January cover star, touted as "Nashville's big bet for global stardom."
The "7 Summers" singer previously sparked controversy in May, when he was kicked out of a Nashville bar and arrested. A police report of the incident seen by Insider said he "appeared to be a danger to himself and others."
In October, "Saturday Night Live" canceled a scheduled performance by Wallen after he was filmed not wearing a mask and ignoring social-distancing guidelines at a bar.
He was rescheduled as the musical guest for a December episode, in which he joined a skit poking fun at his behavior.