Morgan Wallen to His Fans: Don't Try to Defend Me

In a video apology posted on Instagram on Wednesday night, country star Morgan Wallen asked fans not to downplay the racist language he was caught using on camera and said that he accepted the punishments he faced. In the five-minute video, Wallen said he had let so many people down, including his parents and son, the AP reports. "Our actions matter. Our words matter. And I want to encourage anyone that is watching to please learn from my mistake. There's no reason to downplay what I did," he said. He said that the video of him using a racial slur was taken after a three-day "bender," but he has since gotten sober.

Wallen said that he accepted invitations from Black organizations, executives, and leaders to have honest conversations. "They offered me grace and they also paired that with an offer to learn and to grow," he said. "I came away from those discussions with a deep appreciation for them and a clearer understanding of the weight of my words," Wallen said, per the BBC. Wallen also said he accepted any punishments that he faced. Wallen's songs were removed from radio stations last week, streaming services took his music off their top playlists, and his record label suspended him. (Many of his fans responded to the backlash by buying up more of his records and continued to stream him.)