Morgan Wallen offers a no-frills defense for his awkward ‘SNL’ exit back to ‘God’s country’
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When Morgan Wallen abruptly sauntered offstage during the curtain call that closed his most recent “Saturday Night Live” appearance in March, he quickly sparked online backlash and was accused of disrespecting the comedy institution. Now months since the viral moment, the country music star says he has no bad blood with “SNL.”
The Grammy-nominated “Last Night” singer publicly addressed his controversial exit for the first time in the latest episode of Caleb Pressley’s “Sundae Conversation,” published Sunday. During the nearly six-minute chat, Pressley joked with Wallen about home maintenance habits — like taking out the trash and cutting grass — to segue into the “SNL” matter. “Could you fix a TV if it was on ‘SNL’?” Pressley asked.
Wallen, chuckling, responded: “I could change it for sure.”
Earlier this year, “Saturday Night Live” tapped Oscar-winning “Anora” star Mikey Madison to host its March 29 episode and recruited Wallen to return as a musical guest. He made his “SNL” debut in December 2020, delayed by some pandemic-era controversy. During the March episode, Wallen performed a pair of tunes from his album “I’m the Problem,” due out this week.
Morgan Wallen announces a new stadium tour to follow his record-breaking run with the One Night at a Time Tour. His 2025 I’m the Problem Tour kicks off in June.
In typical “SNL” fashion, the episode concluded with Madison and Wallen joining the show’s cast for the “goodnights” curtain call. Usually, both the host and musical guest hang around with the “SNL” stars as the credits roll, but Wallen seemingly had other places to be. After Wallen said goodbye to Madison, he walked in front of the camera toward the audience and left the stage. Shortly after, Wallen shared a photo from his private plane in his Instagram story. “Get me to God’s country,” he wrote over the image.
It’s worth noting that when Wallen debuted on “SNL” nearly five years ago, he appeared alongside host Jason Bateman in a sketch mocking his COVID-19 partying and stayed through the credits to mingle with the “SNL” cast.
The singer’s unexpected departure and social media post quickly generated headlines in March and became fodder for social media critics, some of whom saw Wallen’s “God’s country” line as a dig at New York. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, longtime “SNL” star Kenan Thompson acknowledged Wallen’s walk-off was a “spike in the norm” and a “pretty visible thing.” He also said he found the musician’s “God’s country” post odd.
“What are you trying to say? You trying to say that we are not in God’s country? We’re not all in God’s country?” Thompson told EW. “We’re not all under God’s umbrella? That’s not necessarily my favorite.”
The actor, fresh off of ‘The Righteous Gemstones’ finale and his recent turn in Season 3 of ‘The White Lotus,’ was funny and committed in his first stint as host.
The incident inspired reports about Wallen’s behavior before the live show, including that he did the same exit during rehearsals. The Hollywood Reporter said that Wallen passed on appearing in one of the episode’s sketches and Joe Jonas took the spot instead. “God’s country” and Wallen’s premature exit, of course, found their way back to “SNL,” which referenced the moment during the cold open and “Weekend Update” segments of its April 6 episode.
When Pressley asked “Did [‘SNL’ ] make you mad?” Wallen replied, “No, no.”
“I was just ready to go home,” he added. “Been there all week.”
“Sundae Conversation” touched on more that just one of Wallen’s recent controversies — the singer’s chair-throwing arrest last year also loomed over the chat, albeit more subtly. The “One Thing at a Time” and “Whiskey Glasses” singer, who was arrested in 2020 for public intoxication and faced scrutiny in 2021 for using a racial slur, was arrested in April 2024 on suspicion of hurling a chair from the top of a six-story Nashville bar. In December, the 31-year-old country singer entered a conditional plea in Davidson County Circuit Court to two misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment. He was sentenced to seven days’ incarceration at a DUI Education Center, two years’ probation, a $350 fine and payment of court fees.
“I want you to name a thing that you can sit in that also flies through the air,” Pressley prompted his guest.
The prolific singer and songwriter from Texas is about to make his major-label debut — with his 15th album.
Wallen responded: “I mean there’s one obvious answer. Why do you want me to say that though? I mean, yeah, a jet.”
Pressley suggested there was another answer to his riddle and Wallen, finally catching his drift, answered: “A chair.”
Toward the end of the segment, Pressley also chatted with Wallen about motorcycles, new music and his Morgan Wallen Foundation. In one gag, Pressley suggested Wallen puts the “chair” in “charity.”
“I put the ‘-ity’ in ‘idiot,’ maybe,” Wallen responded.
Times assistant editor Christie D’Zurilla and former staff writer Nardine Saad contributed to this report.
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