Eric Church Calls Morgan Wallen's Racial Slur 'Indefensible'

Earlier this year, Morgan Wallen was caught on video using a racial slur, leading to numerous consequences for the singer including the suspension of his recording contract and having his music pulled from radio stations. In a new interview with Billboard, Eric Church shared his take on the situation, revealing that he sent Wallen a note telling him he was praying for him and to keep "hanging in there."

Though he offered Wallen encouragement, Church made it clear how he feels about the singer's actions. "That was indefensible," he said. "I was heartbroken when it happened. I think Morgan's trying to work on that and on himself. And I hope he does."

Wallen has expressed his admiration of Church on numerous occasions and recorded a song co-written by the star, "Quittin' Time," for his double album Dangerous, which was released in January. "I've spoken about it from the time I've been in this industry and how much of a hero he is to me," Wallen previously told media. "So having him allow me to sing a song that he's the writer on, it's truly one of my favorite accomplishments that I've got so far. I love his style, his attitude, just the way he's handled himself, just always really has resonated with me and just from the time I heard the first song of his, I was immediately was drawn in and was connected."

"And you know, that doesn't happen a lot with somebody," Wallen added. "He's one of the artists that I truly would listen to everything he puts out. You know, when sometimes the critics or the fans don't always agree with what he's doing, but I've always loved it. I've loved every single thing he's done. So this means a lot for me."

Wallen's use of a racial slur is the most recent in a string of controversies for the Tennessee native, and Jimmie Allen, who also reached out to Wallen following the February incident, told Bobby Bones on Bones' BobbyCast podcast that he could "yell at [Wallen] and bash him on social media" or "take some time and kind of really process the whole thing and look at who Morgan is."

"There's so many things than just the n-word, and I feel like everybody was just focusing on that," he said. "This is a guy, a fellow country artist, that we've seen struggling for years now. And no one cared until he said the n-word. No, he's been a person the whole time with problems."