Breland Calls For Conversation Over Cancellation Of Morgan Wallen

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Breland says conversations with fellow country singer Morgan Wallen about his use of the N-word last year would have been more impactful than canceling him.

“Rather than dismiss Morgan, I would have loved to see discourse that included him,” the singer wrote in a piece for CMT. “Unfortunately, we have spent so much time collectively ignoring Morgan that we may have missed the window for such a moment to occur."

Wallen’s music was removed from playlists and he was suspended from his label and barred from awards shows after video surfaced in which he referred to someone as a “p***y-a** n****r.”

The singer apologized publicly and vowed to “do better.”

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Breland said he was disappointed when he saw the video. “I was reminded of times in my life that I’ve felt disrespected or unsafe on account of my race,” he wrote. “But I also found nuance in the situation, as is typically my approach. What I really saw in that infamous video, as I saw in each of Morgan’s public misgivings, was a person that may be struggling and in need of counsel.”

Breland said Wallen deserved to face consequences but added: “Do I believe any of the sanctions levied against Morgan as a result of his actions did anything to solve a race problem in country music, or even a personal race problem that Morgan may have? No, I do not.”

The singer said it’s “lazy” to cancel an artist without “getting to the root of the problem” and opined that canceling Wallen “can’t and didn’t erase racism in country music, because it isn’t a problem that he started.”

Earlier this year, Sean "Diddy" Combs said he was “un-canceling” Wallen so the singer could appear on the Billboard Music Awards. “Canceling is a trend that needs to stop,” he said. “Morgan [used the N-word] while talking to his boy. People make mistakes … It’s time to forgive.”

Breland wrote about how Wallen is poised to make a successful comeback.

“What he’s learned during his time off remains to be seen, but what I hope we can all learn is that our current system for solving these types of issues is ineffective,” he wrote. “While canceling Morgan Wallen has arguably made him a bigger star, it’s hard to know whether it has made him a different person.

“All I know is that I’m ready to have that conversation whenever he is.”

CMT said in a footnote that although Wallen’s management was initially interested in setting up a private conversation between Wallen and Breland, “we’ve been unsuccessful with further communication.”

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