This time, though, there was recourse.
CMT removed his appearances from their platforms, with a spokesperson telling E! News, “We do not tolerate or condone words and actions that are in direct opposition to our core values that celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion.”
iHeartMedia followed suit, with Wendy Goldberg, iHeart Media’s Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, saying, “In light of Morgan Wallen’s recent actions involving the use of a racial slur, we have made the decision to remove his music and content from our stations effective immediately.”
Spotify and Apple Music removed his music from their curated playlists. Booking agent WME dropped him from their roster. His label Big Loud Records suspended his recording contract “indefinitely.” And the Academy of Country Music deemed him ineligible for their 56th annual ACM Awards, which took place in April.
The only thing Wallen didn’t lose in the wake of the video? Fan support.
Sales for his sophomore album, Dangerous: The Double Album (which was released in early January), surged amid industry condemnation. In the week after the incident, he sold an astonishing 102 percent more copies he had the week before, while his debut album entered the Billboard U.S. 200 chart top 10 for the first time since its 2018 release. Dangerous would go on to spend a total of 10 weeks at the top of the chart, nearly all of them post-incident.