On Wednesday, February 3, Big Loud Records announced that they had suspended country star Morgan Wallen’s recording contract, after a video circulated online of the singer using a racial slur.

“In the wake of recent events, Big Loud Records has made the decision to suspend Morgan Wallen’s recording contract indefinitely.” says the independent label based in Nashville on Twitter. “Republic Records fully supports Big Loud’s decision and agrees such behavior will not be tolerated.”

The video displays Morgan being dropped off at his Tennessee house after a rowdy night out. As the country artist walked up his driveway, he shouted to his friends, “Take care of this…(slur),” referring to another person in the group. The video was captured by a doorbell camera and a neighbors cellphone.

After TMZ posted the video, the musician released an apologetic statement. “I’m embarrassed and sorry,” Morgan told the news outlet. “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.”

While comments have been restricted on Wallen’s and Big Loud’s social media accounts, the music industry is standing up for what is right and is speaking out about the issue.

John Shearer

Despite Wallen’s latest release “Dangerous: The Double Album,”  dominating/ staying No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart for three straight weeks­ ­­– the first country album to top the list for that long in eight years, CMT and iHeartRadio released a report stating that they do not accept this type of behavior and that they are in the process of removing his music from their airwaves.

“After learning of Morgan Wallen’s racial slur late last night, we are in the process of removing his appearance from our platforms,” a CMT spokesperson shared 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.

Wallen’s music has also been removed from Spotify’s “Hot Country” playlist and Apple Music’s “Today’s Country.” The star is also receiving massive backlash from other talents in the industry. As Kelsea Ballerini wrote on Twitter, “The news out of Nashville tonight does not represent country music.” To which female country artist Maren Morris responded with, “It actually IS representative of our town because this isn’t his first “scuffle” and he just demolished a huge streaming record last month regardless. We all know it wasn’t his first time using that word. We keep them rich and protected at all costs with no recourse.”

As Morgan Wallen’s name continues to trend on Twitter, several other musicians express their thoughts and opinions on the issue. In fact, the first-ever black female solo country artist to receive a Grammy nomination, Mickey Guyton tweeted, “When I read comments saying “this is not who we are,” I laugh because this is exactly who country music is. I’ve witnessed it for 10 gd years.”

As we see Morgan Wallen experiencing cancel culture at its finest, we have to respect the shift we are currently witnessing in our country today. The music industry proves that they will not stand for racial injustice and discrimination moving forward.

Let us know how you feel about this situation by leaving a reaction below or tweeting us at @CS_Country.

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