NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country music star Morgan Wallen's recording contract has been suspended "indefinitely" and a nationwide radio station operator has pulled his songs from rotation after a video surfaced showing him shouting a racial slur.
The video, which was first published by TMZ on Tuesday night, showed Wallen yelling profanities outside a home in Nashville, Tennessee. Wallen has apologized for using the language.
"I’m embarrassed and sorry," Wallen said in a statement after the video was posted Tuesday by TMZ. "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.”
Wallen's new record has topped the Billboard 200 chart for three weeks and his hits include “Whiskey Glasses.”
"In the wake of recent events, Big Loud Records has made the decision to suspend Morgan Wallen's recording contract indefinitely," reads a tweet.
— Big Loud (@BigLoud) February 3, 2021
Big Loud Records said they and Republic Records, who partnered on Wallen's latest release, agree "such behavior will not be tolerated."
A spokesperson for iHeartMedia, which owns more than 800 radio stations across the country, told the TennesseanWednesday they had removed Wallen's music from rotation.
Wallen has apologized repeatedly for mistakes and stumbles, like the time he was removed from a “Saturday Night Live” performance for violating COVID-19 protocols.
