Darius Rucker says Morgan Wallen should be forgiven for the racist slur incident: “Morgan really tried to improve himself”

Hootie says it’s time to forgive and forget.

Apparently Morgan Wallace is still dealing with the fallout from his viral use of a racial slur that was caught on video in 2021. And of course, you’ll probably say he’s the biggest country artist in the world, so the use obviously didn’t hurt him, despite being temporarily suspended by his label and banned from awards shows.

But if you ask Darius RuckerHe doesn’t believe Morgan has been forgiven for his mistake yet – and he thinks it’s time for everyone to forgive and move on.

Darius recently appeared on the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, where he was asked if he thought Morgan should be forgiven for his racial slur incident:

“Yes, I do. I think Morgan has become a better person since then. I’ve known Morgan for a long time. Since everything that happened, Morgan has really tried to improve 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 nominated for the CMAs and ACMs. They can say what they want, but the fact that Morgan Wallen isn’t nominated for Entertainer of the Year and stuff like that is crazy. Nobody sells more tickets than Morgan. Maybe Luke Combs is right up there with him, but you know, they play in stadiums, man.

But that’s society, and what I think doesn’t matter. People make up their own minds and stick to them. 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, although Lainey had a smaller tour and streaming numbers. Morgan was also nominated for Entertainer of the Year at the 2023 and 2024 ACM Awards, but came away empty-handed both times, and the only major award he has won since the racial slur incident was the 2022 ACM Award for Album of the Year for his Dangerous: The double album.

Apparently, there is speculation that political considerations are a major reason why Morgan has not yet been named “Entertainer of the Year” because voters have instead rewarded “less problematic” artists with the major awards.

But Darius seems to think it’s time to abandon that idea and move on.