Morgan Wallen has won three Billboard awards despite being banned from performing at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards ceremony. The country singer received six nominations, and by the end of the night had bagged awards for top country artist, top country male artist, and top country album for "Dangerous: The Double Album," according to USA Today.
Earlier this year, the show's production company, Dick Clark Productions, announced that Wallen would not perform, present or accept any awards at the ceremony.
The announcement came after a video leaked of him using a racial slur. Wallen apologized and encouraged fans not to defend him, but this has not stopped them from supporting, and voting, for the musician in the Billboard awards.
In a statement released Sunday, Dick Clark Productions explained that "finalists are determined by performance on the Billboard Charts, and are not chosen by a voting committee or membership organization."
"Morgan Wallen is a finalist this year based on charting. As his recent conduct does not align with our core values, we will not be including him on the show in any capacity (performing, presenting, accepting)," the statement continued. "It is heartening and encouraging to hear that Morgan is taking steps in his anti-racist journey and starting to do some meaningful work. We plan to evaluate his progress and will consider his participation in future shows."
Wallen made headlines after TMZ released footage of him yelling profanities and using a racial slur after returning home with his friends from a night out on the town. A neighbor was able to capture the scene on video. As a result, he was pulled from radio, suspended by his label, and dropped by his agency. Shortly after, Wallen admitted he used the racial slur during a 72-hour bender.
"The video you saw was me on hour 72 of a bender, and that's not something I'm proud of either," he said in an Instagram video. "Obviously, the natural thing to do is to apologize further and continue to apologize because you got caught, and that's not what I wanted to do."
Then, in April, Wallen announced that he would not be performing any live shows this summer.
“I wanted to let you guys know that…[I] feel like I’ve really worked on myself," he wrote in a four-page letter. "I’m proud of the work I’ve put in, and in many ways thankful to have had the time to do it. I will always strive to be better. Not only has this time revealed to me the ways in which I want to improve, but it’s also reminded me that I am still very proud of who I am and the man I am becoming."
Wallen added that time out of the spotlight has been "very valuable" and "in many ways" he feels he needs more of it.
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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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