Country star Morgan Wallen’s maskless partying with strangers has cost him his upcoming ‘SNL’ performance spot. We’ve got five things to know about the singer.
Lorne Michaels and his staff at Saturday Night Live are not playing around when it comes to anyone who might bring COVID-19 into Rockefeller Center’s Studio 8-H. The show’s scheduled Oct. 10 musical guest Morgan Wallen is out, after several TikTok videos surfaced of the country singer partying hard in Tuscaloosa, AL following the University of Alabama’s football game the previous Saturday. He was seen at a bar and a house party taking shots, not social distancing, not wearing a mask and kissing random female fans. It was a reckless display in the age of the coronavirus. Thus, SNL wasn’t going to take any chances on letting him near their studio after seeing the videos and knowing the incubation period for the virus is between two to 14 days.
On Oct. 7, the 27-year-old shared an Instagram video from his New York hotel room, revealing he was getting ready for his Saturday performance, “and I got a call from the show that I will no longer be able to play. And that’s because of COVID protocols, which I understand.” Morgan noted that he has tested negative for the coronavirus, but that his actions the weekend prior were “pretty short sighted, and they’ve obviously affected by long term goals and my dreams” We’ve got five things to know about Morgan.
1. Morgan was once a contestant on NBC’s The Voice. The singer appeared on 2014’s season six of the music competition. Surprisingly the Tennessee-born country singer wasn’t on Team Blake Shelton, as he was initially with coach Usher and then Team Adam Levine before being eliminated in the playoff rounds.
2. It took two years for Morgan’s debut album to reach the top of the country music charts. He first studio LP If I Know Me dropped on April 27, 2018. He had already opened for the superstar country duo Florida Georgia Line during their 2017 tour, and FGL appeared on the album’s second single, “Up Down.” Morgan’s third single “Whiskey Glasses” was released in the summer of 2018, and it was a slow burn hit, reaching number one on the country radio airplay charts in June 2019 and becoming one of the year’s biggest hits. If I Know Me finally finally reached the number one spot on the Billboard Country Album chart in Aug. 2020, 114 weeks after it was released. It no doubt made him the hot commodity that SNL wanted for their second show of their 46th season.
3. Morgan loves to golf. Other than rooting for Alabama football, his Instagram page is filled with photos of the singer on the links. Fellow country singer-songwriter Cole Swindell, 37, is even one of his golfing buddies. Morgan is also pals with pro-golfer and PGA champion Justin Thomas, 27, who played for the University of Alabama’s golfing team in college.
4. Morgan became a first-time dad in 2020. He welcomed son Indie Wilder in July with ex-fiancée Katie Smith. Morgan shared an Instagram photo cradling his little boy on July 1, writing, “Little Wilder, I’m a changed man. I see mine differently now. It’s not just me anymore, and I’m glad it’s not. This year has been the hardest of my life in so many ways, but that’s not what i will remember it by. You are.”
5. Morgan is deeply sorry for his actions that cost him the Oct. 10 SNL gig, but he will get a second chance on the show. “I respect the show’s decision because I know I put them in jeopardy and I take ownership for this. I’d like to apologize to SNL, to my fans, to my team for bringing me these opportunities. And I let them down,” Morgan said in his Instagram video. “I wish I could have made country music and my fans proud this Saturday, but I respect the decision. Lorne Michaels actually gave me a lot of encouragement by letting me know we’ll find another time to make this up. So this means a lot to me, thank you for that,” he added. No doubt Morgan will be a lot more cautious with his COVID-19 protocols next time around.
Morgan also revealed that, “On a more personal note, I think I have some growing up to do…I think I’ve lost myself a little bit. I’ve tried to find joy in the wrong places. It’s left me with less joy so I’m going to go work on that. I’m going to take a step back from the spotlight for a little while, and go work on myself.”