Morgan Wallen, a well-renowned country singer, has been banned from the 2021 American Music Awards despite being a double-nominee. The nominations for the AMAs were revealed the morning of October 28th, excluding the controversial singer from accepting any awards and attending the show, which will take place in Los Angeles. The list revealed that Wallen was nominated into the “Favorite Male Country Artist” and “Favorite Country Album” categories, with an asterisk next to his name. 

As show producers MRC Live & Alternative announced the nominees, they explained the reasoning for the asterisk placed next to Wallen’s name. They stated, “Morgan Wallen is a nominee this year based on charting. As his conduct does not align with our core values, we will not be including him on the show in any capacity.” They went on to say that they will continue to monitor his work and attitudes toward the Black community and that he may be eligible to attend future shows.

For readers who do not know what exactly went down with Morgan Wallen, he has used numerous racial slurs on many occasions, claiming them to have been used in a “playful” manner. Despite his (insincere) apologies, everyone with good morals knows that this is not the morally correct way to act, especially if you have a large following, consisting mainly of impressionable teens, who look up to you.  

Wallen has been banned from other award shows, and after a few months, he organized an apology tour where he spoke with various Black organizations about this incident. His record label has since been restored to him.