The Morgan Wallen saga trudges ever-onward, with the world of popular country music continuing to fumble its response to the fact that one of its undeniably biggest stars was caught on video using a racial slur in 2021.
The scandal has seemed to cause a strange glitch (or perhaps it's not so strange) in the country music matrix — while his music has been blacklisted at certain radio stations, he's seen huge upticks in sales and streaming. It's also created some truly odd situations, like Wallen being banned physically from awards shows in which he's nominated multiple times.
That sense of cognitive dissonance continued this past Saturday (January 8), when Wallen was brought on stage as a surprise guest by Ernest, who was making his debut performance at the hallowed Grand Ole Opry.
Ernest co-wrote Wallen's "More Than My Hometown," and recently dropped a duet with Wallen called "Flower Shops," which is what the two performed together at the Opry.
After the performance, the Opry tweeted a photo of the duo on stage. However, the illustrious theatre has been drawing criticism from across the world of progressive country, with many expressing outrage that Wallen was allowed on stage. Jason Isbell, who has been both a collaborator and vocal critic of Wallen's, tweeted:
"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."
He continued in a separate tweet, writing: "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 honour can be terrifying for some. Doesn't have to be that way."
Singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun spoke to a similar idea, tweeting that "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."
The Black Opry — a group that calls itself "a home for Black artists and Black fans of country, blues, folk, and Americana music" — also responded, sharing an open letter to members of the Opry's leadership team Gina Keltner and Dan Rogers.
The letter, attributed to Black Opry founder Holly G, notes that the Opry celebrated the 55th anniversary of late Black country legend Charley Pride's first Opry appearance the day before Wallen's performance.
"It felt like a slap in the face to see you all celebrate Charley Pride, only to pull this stunt 24 hours later," G writes. "You should know that our community is extremely disappointed, though many are not surprised. A stage that was once a dream destination for many Black artists has now cemented itself as one of the many Nashville stages on which we know we are not respected."
So far, the Opry has not responded. See the Opry's, Isbell's and Oladokun's tweets below.
The scandal has seemed to cause a strange glitch (or perhaps it's not so strange) in the country music matrix — while his music has been blacklisted at certain radio stations, he's seen huge upticks in sales and streaming. It's also created some truly odd situations, like Wallen being banned physically from awards shows in which he's nominated multiple times.
That sense of cognitive dissonance continued this past Saturday (January 8), when Wallen was brought on stage as a surprise guest by Ernest, who was making his debut performance at the hallowed Grand Ole Opry.
Ernest co-wrote Wallen's "More Than My Hometown," and recently dropped a duet with Wallen called "Flower Shops," which is what the two performed together at the Opry.
After the performance, the Opry tweeted a photo of the duo on stage. However, the illustrious theatre has been drawing criticism from across the world of progressive country, with many expressing outrage that Wallen was allowed on stage. Jason Isbell, who has been both a collaborator and vocal critic of Wallen's, tweeted:
"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."
He continued in a separate tweet, writing: "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 honour can be terrifying for some. Doesn't have to be that way."
Singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun spoke to a similar idea, tweeting that "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."
The Black Opry — a group that calls itself "a home for Black artists and Black fans of country, blues, folk, and Americana music" — also responded, sharing an open letter to members of the Opry's leadership team Gina Keltner and Dan Rogers.
The letter, attributed to Black Opry founder Holly G, notes that the Opry celebrated the 55th anniversary of late Black country legend Charley Pride's first Opry appearance the day before Wallen's performance.
"It felt like a slap in the face to see you all celebrate Charley Pride, only to pull this stunt 24 hours later," G writes. "You should know that our community is extremely disappointed, though many are not surprised. A stage that was once a dream destination for many Black artists has now cemented itself as one of the many Nashville stages on which we know we are not respected."
So far, the Opry has not responded. See the Opry's, Isbell's and Oladokun's tweets below.
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.
— Joy Oladokun (@joyoladokun) January 9, 2022
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.
