Morgan Wallen Tells Fans ‘Don’t Defend Me’ After N-Word Rant

A week after a video going viral for using the N-word on a video, Morgan Wallen has addressed his actions in a lengthy Instagram video.

“I’m long overdue to make a statement regarding my last incident,” Wallen said in the Instagram video. “I wanted to collect my thought, seek some real guidance and come to you with a complete thought before I did. I was made aware of the video being posted to TMZ with hardly any time to think before it was released to the public. I was asked if I wanted to apologize and of course I did.”

“The video you saw was me on hour 72 of a 72-hour bender. And that’s not something I’m proud off either. Obviously, the natural thing to do is to apologize further and just continue to apologize because you got caught. And that’s not what I wanted to do,” he continued. “Since that video was taken, I’ve been sober for nine days. It’s not that long of a time but it’s enough to know the man in that video is not the man that I’m trying to be.”

Wallen even asked for his fans to stop defending him for what he said on the drunken bender. “I have one favor to ask. I appreciate those who still see something in me and have defended me. But for today, please don’t. I was wrong,” he said in the video. “It’s on me to take ownership for this. And I fully accept any penalties I’m facing.”

The country singer also revealed that he accepted multiple invitations to meet with black organizations and executives to speak with Wallen about the power words can hold. “I admit to you, I was pretty nervous to accept this invitations,” he shared. “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.”

“Our actions matter, our words matter,” Wallen continued. “And I just want to encourage anyone watching to please learn from my mistakes.”

Last week, Wallen’s record label “indefinitely” suspend his recording contract. His music was also pulled from all radio stations across the country.