Morgan Wallen, the country music star who was embroiled in scandal last year for his use of the N-word, just accepted a major honor at the ACM Awards.
Wallen won Album of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards for Dangerous: The Double Album. Other nominees in the category included Miranda Lambert, who won Entertainer of the Year, and Carly Pearce.
"To my son, this album and this award will signify that his daddy was a fighter and that he chased his dreams and worked hard to make them a reality," Wallen said in his acceptance speech.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Wallen also thanked "everyone who has shown me grace along the way." In February 2021, TMZ published video showing Wallen using the N-word after returning home from a night out with his friends, leading him to be suspended by his label and for his music to be pulled on the radio. Despite this, his album Dangerous became the most popular album of 2021 in the U.S., according to Billboard.
Wallen apologized to TMZ for the "unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back." He later told Good Morning America, "I was around some of my friends, and we say dumb stuff together. It was, in our minds, it's playful ... that sounds ignorant, but that's really where it came from, and it's wrong."
Multiple awards shows subsequently disinvited Wallen even though his music was nominated, and in February 2021, he was disqualified from the 2021 ACM Awards. "The Academy does not condone or support intolerance or behavior that doesn't align with our commitment and dedication to diversity and inclusion," the Academy of Country Music said.
But one year later, Wallen was both eligible for the 2022 ACM Awards and invited to attend the ceremony, and he received a warm reception from the crowd during his acceptance speech.
-
Fit for a king: must-visit palaces around the UKThe Week Recommends Our pick of the nation’s most magnificent residences for nobles and royals
-
Is Andy Burnham making a bid to replace Keir Starmer?Today's Big Question Mayor of Manchester on manoeuvres but faces a number of obstacles before he can even run
-
Christian Brückner: why prime suspect in Madeleine McCann case can refuse Met interviewThe Explainer International letter of request rejected by 49-year-old convicted rapist as he prepares to walk free
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
