Morgan Wallen has issued an apology after he was caught using a racial slur on video. The country singer tells TMZ he is ”embarrassed and sorry” after footage surfaced of him using the N-word in a video a neighbor captured.
TMZ broke the news of the video on Tuesday night (Feb. 2), posting a clip that purports to show Wallen returning home on Sunday night (Jan. 31) after spending the night out with a group of friends. The group are being very loud and boisterous, which, according to the celebrity gossip site, is what prompted one of the country star’s neighbors to begin recording.
In the video TMZ obtained, Wallen looks to be stumbling toward his house as he admonishes someone in his group to watch after someone else, unleashing a loud string of profanity that includes the N-word:
Another neighbor’s Ring doorbell camera caught the action as Wallen and his crew arrived back at his place, making it clear why they drew so much attention:
“I’m embarrassed and sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back,” Wallen says in a statement to TMZ. “There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using the word. I promise to do better.”
Wallen has attracted quite a bit of controversy over the course of the past year, even as his star has continued to rise in country music. The singer was arrested on public intoxication and disorderly conduct charges in downtown Nashville in the spring of 2020. He lost his planned debut performance slot on Saturday Night Live after a series of TikTok videos surfaced that showed him partying maskless and kissing multiple women in Alabama bars, just days before he was set to appear on the show that fall.
Wallen was removed from that date’s lineup due to SNL‘s strict COVID-19 protocols, though he was invited back in December. After his removal from the late-night sketch comedy show, he issued an apology to fans, announcing that he planned to take a step back from the spotlight because he felt he had lost himself.
