Morgan Wallen Reveals He Is Now 9 Days Sober, Tells Fans Not to Defend Him After Racial Slur

Nearly two weeks after he was filmed using a racial slur outside his home, Morgan Wallen has revealed to fans that he is now nine days sober. Wallen shared the update in a video message on Wednesday night, explaining that the clip of himself using the slur was “me on hour 72 of 72 of a bender and that’s not something I’m proud of either.”

“Obviously, the natural thing to do is apologize further and just continue to apologize but because you got caught and that’s not what I wanted to do,” he said, telling fans that he has “been sober for nine days.” “It’s not all that long of a time but it’s enough to know the man in that video is not the man that I’m trying to be,” he continued. “I’ve had this week to think about times when I’m sober and I’m really proud of who I am and my actions for the most part in those moments. When I look at the times that I’m not, it seems to be where the majority of my mistakes are made, so I decided to go off the grid for a little while and get used to making good decisions.”

Wallen told fans that he let “so many people down” including his parents and his son, explaining that he waited to publicly apologize further until he got the chance to personally apologize to those closest to him. The 27-year-old added that he has “accepted some invitations from some amazing Black organizations, some executives and leaders to engage in some very real and honest conversations.”

The NAACP was one organization who publicly offered to meet with Wallen and educate him on why the N-word is hurtful, and the country singer admitted that he “was pretty nervous to accept those invitations… They had every right to step on my neck while I was down, to not show me any grace. But they did the exact opposite — they offered me grace, and they also paired that with an offer to learn and to grow.”

He shared that he was had conversations with Black people over the past week that “honestly shook me.” “I know what I’m going through this week doesn’t even compare to some of the trials I heard about from them. I came away from those discussions with a deep appreciation for them and a clear understanding of the weight of my words,” Wallen said. “I wish the circumstances were different for me to learn these things, but I’m also glad it started the process for me to do so.”

After the video, which was filmed by a neighbor, was leaked to TMZ, Wallen’s music was pulled from radio stations across the country as well as numerous playlists on streaming services, his record contract was suspended indefinitely, he was removed from ACM Awards consideration for the upcoming show and he was dropped by his booking agent, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME). In response, his fans pushed his music to the top of the iTunes charts and kept his latest album, Dangerous, atop the Billboard 200, but Wallen told his supporters not to defend him.

“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,” he concluded his message. “I was wrong. It’s on me to take ownership for this and I fully accept any penalties I’m facing. The timing of my return is solely on me and the work I put in.”