Country singer Morgan Wallen is all over entertainment news, and I literally mean “all over” because weirdly his career seems to be over. He did a no-no by using the N-word in a secretly recorded video when he was in the driveway of his Nashville home. No one I’ve listened to or read articles from has mentioned that he seemed to be telling a friend, in my best guess, to tip the driver well. That’s a good thing, right? But he slipped in the N-word so now his career is apparently falling apart right before our ears.
But there is a gigantic elephant in the room with this story.
First of all, it appears he was most likely repeating lyrics of a song, perhaps one he and his friends had just heard in the car. A quick look at song titles on Spotify with the exact phrase he used…
Yes, that is 9 of first 14 tracks that popped up with song titles of the exact phrase spoken by Morgan Wallen. Will these artists get any backlash from this? Doubtful. Should they? Who knows.
Various awards shows (CMT, ACM, CMA) have pulled Morgan Wallen from any nominations in upcoming programs. Yet these same folks (plus the Grammy Awards) have let Justin Bieber be nominated (and/or win) awards AFTER a video surfaced where Justin used the N-word many times and laughed about it, even joking he might become a member of the KKK.
I don’t know if there is a more well-known pop artist that Justin Bieber, and he’s heard on radio stations and streaming channels all over the world to this day, even after the “shocking” video above. Morgan Wallen has already been pulled from radio, just a few days after the incident.
Saturday Night Live uses the word somewhat often with no real pushback. Here’s an example.
Lastly, the golden child of white people who want to make a point about race is Eminem. He’s white. He has used the N-word in lyrics, although references to this were from decade-old songs. I do think Eminem recognizes the sensitivity of using this word, as he is very careful to not include it in lyrics of more recent tracks.
But the point is still the same… Morgan Wallen is being made an example, mostly by agencies and people just trying to “look good” in the public eye. Other entertainers like Justin Bieber, Eminem, cast members of SNL, and anyone who uses this word in any way, should face the same music, right? They won’t, though, because casting hate towards one single person will be enough to satisfy the appetite of the social justice gods…
…until they become hungry again in about a day.
Then they’ll move on to the next person they want to destroy. Morgan Wallen is in a bad situation, that’s for sure, and yes, he brought it on himself. He will not be welcome in country music for many, many years, if ever. If he wants to save any possible chance of a music career, he’ll crossover to pop and then everything should be golden. (I say this with a bit of sarcasm, but also, yeah, if he goes pop he’ll be fine).
-Out of the Wilderness
Out of the Wilderness 