Hayley Williams Reveals Morgan Wallen Is the “Racist Country Singer” She Refers to in New Song
Hayley Williams isn’t one to name names, but Morgan Wallen is among the only exceptions.
After the Paramore frontwoman released her song “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party,” which includes the lyrics, “I’ll be the biggest star at this racist country singer’s bar,” she confirmed that the line is, in fact, calling out the “I Had Some Help” singer and his This Bar in Nashville.
“It could be a couple,” Williams posited about the possible country singer reference on a Sept. 30 episode of The New York Times’ Popcast podcast, before noting, “but I’m always talking about Morgan Wallen, I don’t give a s–t.”
She went on to dare the “Last Night” singer to raise conflict with her, cheekily adding, “Find me at Whole Foods b–h, I don’t care.”
E! News has reached out to reps for Wallen regarding Williams’ comments but has not yet heard back.
Of course, Williams isn’t the only music star to come out of Nashville to slam Wallen’s past racist behavior. Country stars Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris previously slammed The Voice alum when a video surfaced of him saying the N-word in 2021.
Meanwhile, “The Middle” singer chimed in, noting that she was disappointed but not surprised by Morgan’s racist behavior.
“It actually IS representative of our town because this isn’t his first ‘scuffle’ and he just demolished a huge streaming record last month regardless,” Morris added in her own post on X at the time. “We all know it wasn’t his first time using that word. We keep them rich and protected at all costs with no recourse.”
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images/Jason Kempin/Getty ImagesAnd though Wallen has been privy to standing his ground when it comes to more recent negative backlash, he emphasized that he made a “careless” mistake in the resurfaced footage, which was released by TMZ at the time.
“I’m embarrassed and sorry,” Wallen wrote in a statement to E! News. “I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back. There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using the word. I promise to do better.”
For a deeper look into Wallen’s controversial moments, keep reading…
Will Heath/NBC via Getty ImagesMorgan Wallen Abruptly Walked Off Saturday Night Live Stage
Live from New York…it’s a sudden exit.
After serving as the musical guest for the March 29, 2025 episode of Saturday Night Live, Morgan Wallen took the stage to close out the show with host Mikey Madison.
But after the Anora star said goodbye to viewers, the country music star gave her a quick hug and then walked off—breaking tradition of hanging out with the cast as the credits roll.
Wallen later posted a photo of an airplane sitting on the runway to his Instagram Stories and wrote, “Get me to God’s country.”
Brett Carlsen/Getty ImagesMorgan Wallen Pleaded Guilty in Chair-Throwing Case
Wallen was arrested in April 2024 for allegedly throwing a chair from the rooftop of the bar Chief’s in Nashville, police shared at the time. A little more than a week later, the Grammy nominee publicly addressed the incident.
“I didn’t feel right publicly checking in until I made amends with some folks,” he wrote on X April 19, 2024. “I’ve touched base with Nashville law enforcement, my family, and the good people at Chief’s. I’m not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility.”
In December 2024, Wallen pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor reckless endangerment for the alleged chair-throwing incident. He was sentenced to two years of probation as well as seven days incarceration at a DUI education center.
Jason Kempin/Getty Images for CMAMorgan Wallen Used a Racial SlurFollowing a leaked video of Wallen uttering a racial slur in February 2021, the singer apologized to fans.
“I’m embarrassed and sorry,” he said in a statement to E! News. “I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back. There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using the word. I promise to do better.”
Many country music artists slammed Wallen, radio stations dropped him, his then-record label suspended his contract indefinitely and he was banned from several award shows that year.
“My words matter,” he said in an Instagram video later that month. “A word can truly hurt a person, and at my core, it’s not what I’m OK with. This week I heard firsthand some personal stories from Black people that honestly shook me. And I know what I’m going through this week doesn’t even compare to some of the trials I heard about from them. I came away from those discussions with a deep appreciation for them and a clearer understanding of the weight of my words.”
Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Morgan Wallen Broke SNL‘s COVID-19 Protocols
Wallen was scheduled to be the musical guest on SNL in October 2020, but after photos and videos of the musician partying in Alabama surfaced online, he was kicked off the show for not following its COVID-19 guidelines.
“I was getting ready for SNL this Saturday, and I got a call from the show letting me know that I would no longer be able to play. And that’s because of COVID protocols, which I understand,” Wallen said in a video shared to social media at the time. “I’m not positive for COVID, but my actions this past weekend were pretty short-sighted and they have obviously affected my long-term goals and my dreams.”
The “Last Night” performer took ownership for his actions.
“On a more personal note, I think I have some growing up to do,” he continued. “I think I’ve lost myself a little bit. I’ve tried to find joy in the wrong places and, I don’t know, it’s left me with less joy. So, I’m gonna go try to work on that. I’m gonna take a step back from the spotlight for a little while and go work on myself.”
While Jack White stepped in as the musical guest, Wallen got another chance to perform on SNL that December. He even poked fun at the incident in one of the sketches.
Jason Kempin/ACMA2020/Getty Images for ACMMorgan Wallen Was Arrested for Alleged Disorderly ConductThe Voice alum was arrested on public intoxication and disorderly conduct charges in May 2020 after he allegedly got kicked out of Kid Rock‘s Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse. According to an arrest warrant obtained by The Tennessean, Wallen had been “kicking glass items” and then got into verbal arguments with pedestrians on the street.
“Hey y’all just wanted to clear the air,” he wrote on X at the time. “I went out downtown last night with a few old friends. After a couple bar stops, we were horse-playing with each other. We didn’t mean any harm, and we want to say sorry to any bar staff or anyone that was affected.”
The charges were dropped against Wallen that July, according to online court records from the Howard Gentry Criminal Court Clerk in Tennessee.
