Morgan Wallen is an American country music singer and songwriter from Sneedville, Tennessee. He gained massive public attention after his time as a contestant on the Voice, starting off on team Usher then finishing on team Adam.

The singer-songwriter, who was making waves in the music industry, was caught in one of it’s biggest scandals after he was caught on video using a racial slur. The event has led to radio bans, sales and streaming going down, apologies from Wallen and even him being banned from an award show at which his music was up for nominations. After some time passing, the tension is still as thick as ever.

On the Saturday night Grand Ole Opry performance done by pop-country artist, Ernest, who has collaborated with Wallen on numerous occasions (“More Than My Hometown” “Flower Shops”). Ernest surprised the audience by bringing friend Wallen onstage to sing “Flower Shops” with him. The Opry’s reaction was positive, even going to show support with a tweet.

Surprise! @MorganWallen joins @ernest615 to perform their new duet “Flower Shops” 🎶 pic.twitter.com/3UzRyC5gHd

— Grand Ole Opry (@opry) January 9, 2022

Though not everyone is as excited as the Opry, Wallen has received criticism from a couple different artists, one of them being Jason Isbell. Isbell’s song “Cover Me Up,” was actually one of Wallen’s bigger hits, however after the scandal Isbell donated the royalties of the song to the NAACP.

Isbell released his thoughts on the matter via Twitter. He said,

“Last night @opry you had a choice- either upset one guy and his ‘team,’ or break the hearts of a legion of aspiring Black country artists. You chose wrong and I’m real sad for a lot of my friends today. Not surprised though. Just sad.”

Isbell goes on to further discuss the issue. See bellow for the rest of his response.

Last night @opry you had a choice- either upset one guy and his “team,” or break the hearts of a legion of aspiring Black country artists. You chose wrong and I’m real sad for a lot of my friends today. Not surprised though. Just sad.

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) January 9, 2022

The thing that really upsets me is bigger than one person’s words. It’s the idea of a young Black artist walking into that venue and wondering if ANYBODY is on their side. What a lot of us consider to be a grand ole honor can be terrifying for some. Doesn’t have to be that way. https://t.co/pxtSQjimoG

— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) January 9, 2022

Black singer song-writer Joy Oladokun shares Isbell’s feelings on the issue.

She said,

“Morgan Wallen’s thoughtless redemption tour is the nail in the coffin of me realizing these systems, and this town is really not for us. imma keep making my lil music in my attic, y’all can listen if you want. i don’t know that i’ll do this work forever.”

morgan wallen’s thoughtless redemption tour is the nail in the coffin of me realizing these systems, and this town is really not for us.

imma keep making my lil music in my attic, y’all can listen if you want. i don’t know that i’ll do this work forever.

— Joy Oladokun (@joyoladokun) January 9, 2022

Wallen also faces criticism from the Black Opry, a group that labels themselves as a safe place for black artists and fans within the Southern music genre. They wrote a message to Gina Keltner and Dan Rogers. They said,

“It felt like a slap in the face to see you all celebrate Charley Pride, only to pull this stunt 24 hours later.”

Singer songwriter, Allison Russell, joins in on the conversation saying how “grateful” she was to the Black Opry and how “heartbroken” she was on the issue.

So grateful for you and your advocacy,Holly.I feel heartbroken. I was so proud to debut @opry last May & overjoyed that @amythystkiah & @TheValerieJune also debuted in 2021 — it felt like a long overdue shift toward greater inclusivity-beyond tokenism…this is such a backslide

— Allison Russell (@outsidechild13) January 10, 2022

Photo credit: Boston Lynn Schulz