Darius Rucker says Morgan Wallen has “become a better person” since the racist slur incident

Darius Rucker says fellow country singer Morgan Wallen has “really tried to better himself” since he was caught using a racial slur in 2021.

Darius Rucker recently spoke about his friend Morgan Wallen, saying the country star has “become a better person” since his high-profile incident involving the racist slur.

During a performance at the Rolling Stone Music Now In a podcast, the “Wagon Wheel” singer referenced Wallen’s 2021 controversy, saying, “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.”

Although Rucker seems to have put Wallen’s mistakes behind him, he says the country music industry as a whole “hasn’t forgiven” the “Last Night” singer. “He’s still not nominated for the CMAs and ACMs,” Rucker said. “They can say what they want, but the fact that Morgan Wallen isn’t nominated for Entertainer of the Year and things like that is crazy. Nobody sells more tickets than Morgan.”

Wallen stayed largely out of the spotlight for several months in 2021 after he was caught on camera using the N-word. In an apology statement to the New York TimesAfter the incident, Wallen said, “I am embarrassed and sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I would like to take back. There are no excuses for using that type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using that word. I promise to do better.”

After the incident, Rucker said he was “shocked” to hear Wallen use the racial slur so casually. “I know Morgan, and I like Morgan. It’s one of those things where you know there are a lot of people around the country that just use that word casually,” the Hootie & the Blowfish frontman said during an episode of People in the 90s Podcasts.

“And even if they say they don’t mean it in a derogatory way, they just don’t use it. They don’t say it,” Rucker added. “It’s shocking how widespread it is. Racism is still alive. It lives strong in some people and it’s sad. It should get better, but it’s getting worse.”