The country singer, who won Top Country Male Artist at the 2022 BBMAs, was banned from the award show last year after he was seen using racial slur in a video that quickly went viral.
- May 16, 2022
AceShowbiz - Morgan Wallen made his return to the Billboard Music Awards stage on Sunday, May 15 after being banned from the ceremony last year due to his racial slur scandal. Some viewers, however, were not happy with the decision as they took to Twitter to slam his performance at the award-giving event.
"F**k Morgan Wallen and this Jim Crow music. With what just happened in Buffalo, we coulda cut him from the lineup," one critic tweeted, referring to the racially motivated attack in Buffalo on Saturday that killed 10 people. "Un-canceled my a**. That's the problem now, we always giving out second chances for MFs to play in our faces."
"Is @billboard really supporting and promoting this racist prick," another wrote on the blue bird app. Someone else, meanwhile, criticized Sean "P. Diddy" Combs' alleged contradicting act, saying, "Diddy gives an award for activism against racism while simultaneously giving platform to Morgan Wallen."
At the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, Morgan hit the stage to sing two songs, "Wasted on You" and "Don't Think Jesus". The latter is a track about a boy turning to religion following regrettable, shameful actions. "I think that kind of just speaks for my story - 10 years, but especially the past couple. I feel like that song is really a big representation of a lot of things that I've been through and the attitude that I've approached it with. So I hope that comes across," he told Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet beforehand.
Not only performing, the country singer was presented with an award that night. During his acceptance speech for Top Country Male Artist, which was presented by Pusha T, Morgan said, "Man, I'd like to say thank God, thank my fans, I've got the best damn fans." He continued, "Thank you to my momma for being my date tonight. I wouldn't be here without you. Thank you to the Billboards for inviting me here. Thank you to my team. Thank you to my family, my friends, to my little boy for inspiring me everyday. God bless y'all."
Morgan was banned from attending or performing at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards after a video emerged featuring the country singer using a racist and anti-black slur. Despite that, he still won three awards at the 2021 BBMAs. He was then suspended indefinitely by his label Big Loud Records following his use of the racist language. In the aftermath of the scandal, his music was pulled from country radio in addition to him being taken out of contention for the 2021 Country Music Awards and 2021 American Music Awards.
When announcing Morgan as one of the performers at this year's ceremony, event producer MRC Live & Alternative shared in a statement, "We oppose discrimination, harassment, or racism of any kind. We believe in treating everyone with dignity and respect. After a thorough review and robust discussions internally and with the artist's team, in which we found a demonstrated and ongoing commitment to meaningful work and outreach, we extended an invitation to participate in this year's show."
