Darius Rucker Says Morgan Wallen Should Be Forgiven For Racial Slur Incident: “Morgan’s Tried To Really Better Himself”

Hootie thinks it's time to forgive and forget. Obviously Morgan Wallen is still dealing with the fallout of his viral use of a racial slur that was caught on camera back in 2021. And sure, you'll probably say that he's the biggest country artist in the world so obviously it ended up not hurting him, despite the fact that he was temporarily suspended from his label and banned from awards shows. But if you ask Darius Rucker , he doesn't think that Morgan has been forgiven for his mistake yet - and he thinks it's time for everybody to forgive and move on. Darius recently joined the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, where he was asked whether he feels Morgan should be forgiven for his racial slur incident: “Yeah, I do. I think Morgan’s become a better person since that. I’ve known Morgan a long time. Since all that happened Morgan’s tried to really better himself and become a better person and see the world in a much better way. And you know, he’s not forgiven. He’s still not out for CMAs and ACMs. They can say what they want, but the fact that Morgan Wallen's not up for Entertainer of the Year and those things is crazy. No one’s selling more tickets than Morgan. Maybe Luke Combs is right up there with him, but you know, they're playing stadiums, man. But that's society, and what I think doesn't matter, and people are going to make their own opinion and go with it. So it is what it is." Now, Morgan has been nominated for Entertainer of the Year at the CMA Awards for the past two years, but his fans were upset when he lost to Lainey Wilson in 2023, despite Lainey having a smaller tour and streaming numbers. Morgan was also nominated for Entertainer of the Year at both the 2023 and 2024 ACM Awards, but he's walked away empty handed both times, and the only major award he's won since the racial slur incident was the 2022 ACM Award for Album of the Year for his Dangerous: The Double Album. Obviously the speculation is that politics are a major reason that Morgan has yet to win Entertainer of the Year, with voters instead rewarding "less problematic" artists with the major awards. But Darius seems to think it's time to put that idea to bed and move on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2rmznmfOU0&list=PLutjSNT2sWl2zXDACq-5IfuGJ1TKZFjE7