Morgan Wallen will not be joining Luke Bryan on tour this summer or appearing at any scheduled festival dates.
In a handwritten letter to fans on Tuesday, April 13, Wallen thanked fans for standing by him and shared his gratitude for taking his album, Dangerous: The Double Album, to the top of the Billboard 200 chart for 10 consecutive weeks, a record he didn’t even know existed. The country superstar also opened up about his time away from the spotlight and shared that he’s “really worked” on himself over the past few months.
Wallen then revealed that he has decided to remove himself from Luke Bryan’s upcoming Proud To Be Right Here Summer Tour as well as all scheduled festival appearances. However, the hitmaker encouraged his fans to still attend the Bryan tour as well as the upcoming festivals to support country music.
“I found this time away to be very valuable to me in many ways, but I feel like I need a little more of it, and therefore will not be performing tour dates this summer,” Wallen said in the touching letter. “It means I won’t to be playing festivals or the Luke Bryan tour dates. But it’s important to me personally, if you can, still go to the shows and support country music.”
“Country music is back and that’s a beautiful damn thing,” he continued.
The East Tennessee native closed his post by letting fans know that his “story is far from over” and promised that fans will be seeing him sooner than later.
“I’m back in Nashville getting back in the swing of things and you guys can rest assured that I am looking forward to giving you guys what you deserve, especially after all you’ve done for me,” the chart-topping singer/songwriter said. “My story is far from over and getting back out to see y’all is all I can think about. So just know you’ll be seeing me sooner than later.”
Wallen’s letter comes just one day after his fans purchased six billboards around Nashville to support him. Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album notched a record-breaking 10 weeks atop the Billboard 200 chart, despite industry backlash.
Wallen broke his silence on his use of the N-word with a lengthy apology video shared to social media. During his video message, Wallen asked his fans to stop defending him and promised he was ready to face the consequences of his actions.
“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,” he said. “It’s on me to take ownership for this and I fully accept any penalties I’m facing.”
Wallen has faced extensive backlash following his use of the racial slur. On February 3, one day after the TMZ video surfaced, his label, Big Loud, revealed that his recording contract had been suspended indefinitely. Additionally, his music was pulled from hundreds of radio stations across the country and removed from major playlists across various DSPs, including Spotify and Apple Music. Since then, however, his music has been slowly reinstated on some radio and digital platforms.
The Academy of Country Music revealed that he is ineligible for the upcoming ACM Awards and will not be invited to participate in the show. His content and appearances were also removed from CMT and the Country Music Association and Wallen was dropped by his booking agent, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME).