Morgan Wallen fans don’t have to worry about separating the art from the artist to enjoy his music despite his controversial behavior because they actually just genuinely don’t see a problem with him being charged with committing felonies.
Wallen has been involved in numerous controversies, including multiple run-ins with the cops, utilizing racial slurs, and defying COVID-19 protocols. Hence, few were surprised when news arose earlier this month that he had been arrested again. On April 7, Wallen was arrested on three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct after he threw a chair off a six-story building in downtown Nashville. The chair crash-landed in the street below, just three feet short of two police officers standing outside the building. Witness accounts and video footage quickly confirmed Wallen was the apparent culprit, as he was seen hurling the chair of the building for no known reason and laughing about it.
Although no one was injured, his behavior easily could’ve seriously injured or even killed someone. Wallen remained silent about the incident until the night before his first concert since the arrest. One day before performing at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi, he wrote a brief apology via X. However, it felt less like an apology and more like something he wanted to get out of the way so he could perform.
Then, during his performance in Mississippi on April 20th, his fans reminded everyone why Wallen could simply walk back on stage and perform as if nothing was wrong after being arrested.
Morgan Wallen fans defend his problematic behavior
As reported by Fox News (via Yahoo Entertainment), attendees of Wallen’s Mississippi concert were all too eager to defend the singer’s behavior or admit that they simply didn’t care about it. Prior to the performance, reporters questioned the crowd about their thoughts on Wallen’s recent arrest. Almost none of the interviewees so much as acknowledged that Wallen had done something wrong.
Some concert-goers joked about it, with one 18-year-old commenting, “He just let that liquor talk, just like the song [Last Night] said.” Another concert-goer stated, “I thought it was really funny, not gonna lie.” Meanwhile, the few who did come close to admitting his reckless behavior was wrong still found odd ways to excuse it. Notably, one attendee, a freshman at Ole Miss, stated, “I feel like it’s just kind of his personality a little bit.” Others quickly agreed, commenting that committing felonies is just “kind of Morgan Wallen behavior” and that “he’s a rebel.”
Many dismissed the incident as a “mistake” and something “unfortunate” but reiterated that the biggest concern for them was that Wallen was still able to perform on the 20th. A few commented that he’d have to do “something more serious than throwing a chair” for them to withdraw support. One retired law enforcement officer stated he wouldn’t hold the incident against Wallen since the singer apologized to police in his X post. To be fair, some attendees did admit that Wallen is not “above the law” and that he “deserves a little bit” of the backlash for what he did. The vast majority, though, either excused the incident or admitted that they didn’t care about it.
Meanwhile, his concert isn’t the only place those sentiments were expressed. On his most recent Instagram post, some of the top comments read: “Keep up the behavior! I still love your music!,” “U could be arrested a mil times and I still support your music lol,” “Not my chair not my problem,” and “u can throw a chair at my face and i’d still love you.”
It’s hard to know where to even begin because all these statements are a lot to take in. For starters, since when is committing alleged felonies a personality trait?! How could someone actually go on the record saying something so absurd? Why are all these people using words like personality and rebel to describe Wallen? Why can’t they just say it like it is that he’s problematic and has endangered people with his unacceptable behavior? It’s true that the chair incident alone doesn’t wholly define him, but combined with multiple other controversies, it’s a pretty relevant testimony to his character.
It’s also unclear what people think was so “funny” about his actions. He didn’t seriously hurt someone this time, but that was only because of sheer luck. What if he had? What if he does next time? Would all these attendees and commenters still be laughing, then? No one attending a Wallen concert or hanging out on his Instagram page is expected to wholly denounce or withdraw support for him. However, what’s striking is that most couldn’t even so much as admit what he did was, indeed, wrong. They could’ve stated they were personally choosing to support Wallen while still acknowledging that throwing chairs off six-story buildings is obviously not acceptable for anyone to do.
There is always so much outcry anytime a celebrity is perceived as being “canceled.” However, questioning the platform of a controversial person feels far less dangerous than openly encouraging certain celebrities to essentially do whatever they want because their actions will always be defended or dismissed.
(featured image: Jason Kempin / Getty)
