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Morgan Wallen’s viral ‘SNL’ snub now involves Joe Jonas, Kenan Thompson, and a controversial merch line

By Apr 1st, 2025, 8:16 pm

The drama around Morgan Wallen’s abrupt exit from a recent episode of Saturday Night Live continues to unfold, with new details involving Kenan Thompson, Joe Jonas, a line of merchandise inspired by the fiasco. 

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In case you missed it, Wallen — who was serving as the SNL musical guest — turned heads over the weekend when he delivered a sensational stage-exit before the credits had rolled. Since guests typically remain on stage and hug the sketch show’s cast, Wallen’s abrupt departure fuelled speculation that the country music singer had an unpleasant experience while shooting the episode, which was hosted by recent Oscar-winner Mikey Madison. 

Now, those rumors have been given extra weight in the form of an insider who claims Wallen rejected a pitch by SNL writers to star in a sketch, with the role ultimately going to Jonas instead. The story goes that Wallen was supposed to feature on the bridge of the skit song “Big Dumb Line” alongside Bowen Yang, Chloe Fineman and Madison. However, the singer turned down the part (per Variety), meaning the sketch ultimately went to air with Jonas in his place.

The source didn’t clarify why Wallen supposedly rejected the role, but SNL nonetheless went ahead with Jonas delivering a Europop-inspired song about waiting in “dumb” lines for even dumber foods, like “palad” (pizza and salad) and “fandy” (fish and candy). While he didn’t appear in that sketch, Wallen did perform two songs from his upcoming album during the episode, titled “I’m the Problem” and “Just in Case”. While the source remained tight-lipped about Wallen’s supposed beef with SNL, Thompson was far less vague about the fiasco. 

The SNL castmate responded to all the hullabaloo in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. “I don’t know what goes through people’s minds when they decide to do stuff like that,” Thompson said of Wallen’s abrupt exit. The comedian said he was unsure whether Wallen “understood the assignment” that is a guest usually hanging on stage for the credits, or whether the musician “was really feeling a certain kind of way” about his SNL experience. 

“It’s definitely a spike in the norm,” Thompson added, saying castmates are “so used to everybody just turning around and high-fiving us” that Wallen’s departure made them “wonder what that’s about.” Thompson compared Wallen’s move to that of Prince — who similarly stage-exited during his own SNL musical guest spot — but said the difference is “Prince was notoriously kind of standoffish.” Just when you thought the drama couldn’t get any messier, Wallen decided on Monday to release a merch line inspired by the debacle. 

Yep, the musician announced on social media that he was selling an array of hats and t-shirts emblazoned with the phrase “God’s country,” which is exactly the term that landed him in hot water amid the SNL controversy. The speculation around Wallen reached fever-pitch when, in the wake of the episode, he shared an image of himself on a private jet with the caption: “Get me to God’s country,” which many fans took as evidence that he was eager to leave his SNL experience behind him. 

Now, Wallen is cashing-in on the phrase, but Thompson isn’t too impressed. “The ‘God’s country’ of it all is strange because it’s like, what are you trying to say?” Thompson said of Wallen’s Instagram post. “Are you trying to say that we are not in God’s country?” So feverish is the controversy that one must wonder whether Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are breathing a sigh of relief. Probably not, but it must be nice for the pair to see an unfolding Hollywood drama that, for once, doesn’t include them.

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Tom Disalvo

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