Morgan Wallen Quietly Slips Back on the Airwaves

RADIO ONLINE | Friday, June 11, 2021

Morgan Wallen

A little over four months ago, country superstar Morgan Wallen was persona non grata on most country music stations after a video of him using the N-word in a drunken exchange with friends in his driveway went viral. Wallen later apologized but that did little to reinstate airplay... until now. Wallen songs have quietly started reappearing on stations owned by iHeartMedia, Cumulus Media, Cox Media, TownSquare Media and other major chains, with the word being that the top execs at these companies are now allowing stations to make their own decisions about whether it feels appropriate to put Wallen back on the air in their markets.

Variety reports that one major key to lifting of the ban is that Wallen's team has continues to send out reports that the singer is dealing with his issues, both at a racial sensitivity level and on a substance abuse basis. His label, Big Loud, which had said at the outset of the controversy that it was "suspending" Wallen - without responding to queries about what that ambiguous term meant - has done its own quiet reinstatement, as the embattled singer now appears on the official roster again on the company website.

TMZ recently interviewed a Nashville NAACP spokesperson who said that Wallen's camp had spurned their requests for a meeting, although Wallen said in February that he was already meeting with Black leaders. One of Wallen's new mentors may be former "marketing innovator" JJ Jones who described Wallen as a "person who is truly remorseful over people he (h)as hurt" and someone who had chosen "to accept responsibility and take accountability for his actions."