Morgan Wallen Kinda Hoped You Forgot That Money He Promised
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Morgan Wallen Kinda Hoped You Forgot That Money He Promised

Back in February, ahead of a planned appearance on Saturday Night Live, country singer Morgan Wallen came under fire for a leaked video of him saying the N-word. After being banned from airwaves and dropped from said musical gig, Wallen later went on Good Morning America to apologize for his use of the racial slur and pledged to donate $500,000 from the spike in sales of his debut album since the video came out to organizations that supported Black people and musicians. Now, a couple months after the fact, the organization Wallen donated to has said they've only received a fraction of what was promised.

In a new report from Rolling Stone, the only organization Wallen mentioned by name in the GMA interview, the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC), has said they have only received one donation of $165,000 since April. BMAC told the magazine that Wallen's claimed $500,000 in donations "seems exceptionally misleading" adding that "While we are appreciative of the money, which has been used to make grants directly to Black musicians through our COVID Emergency Relief Fund, we remain disappointed that Morgan has not used his platform to support any anti-racism endeavors."

The organization said they had met with Wallen back in February and March following the video's release but called the singer out for his lack of follow through. 56 other Black-led or Black-founded charities from across the country have yet to report receiving any donations from Wallen as well, with NAACP Nashville president Sheryl Guinn criticizing the singer for failing to meet.

"We urged Morgan to use his platform to do more than just apologize, but to strongly condemn racism and to support anti-racism efforts and initiatives," BMAC said in a statement. "We made clear that if he was open to learning, open to education, open to speaking up, and most importantly, open to helping educate his fans and followers, BMAC would be open to working with him to create awareness campaigns and initiatives around anti-racism. But that he first had to commit to doing the work."

Despite all of the increased scrutiny surrounding Wallen, the country music industry seems to have already welcomed the singer back into the fold. Wallen's single, "Sand in My Boots," has recently made its way back to radio, resulting in the Dangerous cut's resurgence on Billboard charts. Wallen has also recently appeared at a benefit concert alongside Dierks Bentley, Cole Swindell, Hardy, Lainey Wilson and more as well as picking up his first ever country music award for album of the year at the CMAs.

Photo via Getty/ Nicholas Hunt