Country star Luke Combs has apologized for his past use of the Confederate flag. The singer sparked backlash after images emerged on social media showing the singer standing next to the Confederate flag in a scene from Ryan Upchurch's video, "Can I Get An Outlaw" in 2015. There are also images of Combs standing with his guitar that had a sticker of the flag on it.
During a conversation with Maren Morris and Ann Powers on "accountability and the future of country music" for the annual Country Radio Seminar, Combs said "there is no excuse" for using the imagery.
"As I’ve grown in my time as an artist, and as the world has changed drastically in the last five to seven years, I am now aware how painful that image can be," Combs said, according to Vulture. "I would never want to be associated with something that brings so much hurt to someone else."
The topic came about in response to Morgan Wallen's use of a racial slur. The country icon was yanked from radio, suspended by his label, and dropped by his agency after video emerged of him throwing the slur around after a night out with friends. In the wake of the incident and the backlash of his use of imagery of the Confederate flag, Combs said he was attempting "to learn" and "get better."
"I know that I’m a very highly visible member of the country-music community right now," he said. "And I want to use that position for good, and to say that people can change and people do want to change, and I’m one of those people trying."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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