Country singer Morgan Wallen appears to have made a promise that he can’t seem to keep after reports revealed the “Whiskey Glasses” singer has yet to deliver on the $500,000 he said would donate to Black-led organizations after he was caught using the N-word in a leaked video.
As previously reported, Wallen made headlines last February when a video of him hurling the racial slur after a night out with friends surfaced. In the clip, Wallen is seen outside hurling profanities at his friends including, “Take care of this “p****-a** m**********r,” before adding: “Take care of this p****-ass n*****.” The Tennessee native ultimately apologized for his behavior.
Shortly after, while appearing on “Good Morning America,” Wallen said he and his team noticed a spike in record sales following the incident and decided to give back the profits. “We got to a number somewhere around $500,000, and we decided to donate the money to some organizations, BMAC [the Black Music Action Coalition] being the first one,” he told host Michael Strahan in July.
However, Rolling Stone reported that while the 28-year-old did donate some money, it’s far off from what he initially stated he would give. In a statement to the outlet, BMAC — the only organization Wallen mentioned by name in his interview — slammed the artist.
The group expressed disappointment that “Morgan has not used his platform to support any anti-racism endeavors.” They further stated that while they did receive some aid from the “Wasted On You” singer, they noted the $500,000 figure as “exceptionally misleading.”
They claimed to have only received a total $165,000 directly from Wallen, given back in April. With that money, BMAC says they used the funds “to make grants directly to Black musicians through our COVID Emergency Relief Fund.” In addition, none of 56 other Black-led or Black-founded state, regional and or national charities Rolling Stone contacted has reported receiving money from Wallen.
In May, Wallen was blasted yet again after failing to meet with NAACP Nashville President Sheryl Guinn. TMZ reported Wallen’s team went “silent” after an early phone call and never made an attempt to reschedule. Instead Wallen made a surprise visit at Kid Rock’s Big Honky Tonk & Steakhouse in Nashville.
