Morgan Wallen Reportedly Didn’t Donate the Money He Said He Would to Racial Justice Charities After Using the N-Word

Morgan Wallen recently received criticism for using the n-word, later going on social media (and Good Morning America) to comment on the incident. Here’s what one nonprofit said about his “exceptionally misleading” donations.

Morgan Wallen was filmed saying the n-word

Known as an award-winning country singer, in 2021 Wallen was captured on video saying the n-word. Instantly, the artist received backlash from listeners, even being dropped from several music award shows as a result.

According to Billboard, since the video surfaced, Wallen was dropped from his booking agent, WME. Days later, the artist posted a 5-minute apology video elaborating on what happened and explaining he had since met with “Black leaders” who explained how painful his words were. 

“I accepted some invitations from some amazing Black organizations, some executives, and leaders, to engage in some very real and honest conversations,” he said. “This week I heard first-hand some personal stories from Black people that honestly shook me, and I know what I’m going through this week doesn’t compare to some of the trials I heard about from them. I came away… with a clearer understanding of the weight of my words.”

One organization said Morgan Wallen was ‘misleading’ when describing his donations to racial justice charities 

The artist also appeared on Good Morning America, commenting on the video and his plans to make amends. That included donating to the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC), a nonprofit addressing systemic racism through music. 

“Before this incident, my album was already doing well,” Wallen said during the interview with Michael Strahan. “It was already being well received by critics and by fans. Me and my team noticed that whenever this whole incident happened that there was [a] spike in my sales.”

According to the charity, though, the artist was “misleading” in his phrasing.

In a statement to Rolling Stone, “BMAC — the only organization Wallen mentioned by name in his GMA interview — criticized the singer, saying they were ‘disappointed that Morgan has not used his platform to support any anti-racism endeavors.’ While the group received some money from Wallen, they said the $500,000 number ‘seems exceptionally misleading.’”

Other artists commented on Morgan Wallen using the n-word

Other artists commented on the Wallen incident, including country singer Kane Brown — an acquaintance of Wallen. The artist shared that in a different context, he would “probably would’ve been fighting.”

“This is the first time I’ve ever even talked about this, but I personally know Morgan,” Brown said during an interview with Country Now. “I texted him that day. I told him he shouldn’t have said it, but also knowing Morgan, I knew that he didn’t mean it in the way that the world thought that he meant it.”

The singer has not yet commented on Brown’s statement. Wallen continued to release music, debuting “You Proof” on Spotify in May 2022.