John Rich weighed in on fellow country music star Morgan Wallen’s arrest for allegedly throwing a chair off the sixth story of rooftop bar in Nashville, Tennessee.
Rich, 50, who is one half of the duo Big & Rich with Big Kenny, shared his advice for the embattled 30-year-old “Wasted on You” singer, who was arrested on Sunday night and later charged with three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one count of disorderly conduct.
In a post he shared on X, the “Save A Horse” hitmaker explained that he empathized with Wallen due to his own past struggles with fame.
“Reading about Morgan Wallen this morning, and I can’t help but recall all the destructive, crazy things I did early on in my career,” Rich wrote in a post that he shared on X on Monday.
He continued, “The combo of intense pressure, expectations and over the top success is a dangerous cocktail.”
“Thank God I had great mentors who helped guide me out of that mindset, and I hope Morgan has some people around him who care about him enough to help him find a new approach to life,” Rich added.
“It takes a lifetime to build what he’s built, and one second to destroy it all. I’m rooting for him to turn it around.”
The Metro Nashville Police Department shared Wallen’s booking photo on social media along with an arrest report stating he was “booked early today on 3 cts of felony reckless endangerment and 1 ct of misdemeanor disorderly conduct for throwing a chair from the rooftop of Chief’s Bar Sun night. The chair landed on Broadway, close to 2 MNPD officers. His bond: $15,250.”
According to the arrest report, authorities were standing in front of Chief’s on Broadway when a chair fell from above, landing just feet away from them, according to WTVF. The Eric Church-backed bar opened its doors for the first time on April 5.
“At 10:53 p.m. Sunday evening Morgan Wallen was arrested in downtown Nashville for reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. He is cooperating fully with authorities,” Wallen’s attorney, Worrick Robinson, told Fox News Digital.
Church’s spokesperson, who also represents Wallen, told Fox News Digital on Monday that the “Heart on Fire” singer had “no comment” on the arrest.
A photo of Wallen outside the bar with police was published by TMZ. On Tuesday, Fox News Digital obtained footage of the alleged incident that was recorded on EarthCam.
Wallen’s arrest on Sunday was not his first run-in with the law. In 2020, the country crooner was arrested outside another Nashville bar, Kid Rock’s Big [A–] Honky Tonk and Rock ‘n’ Roll Steakhouse, after being thrown out of the establishment.
Following the arrest, Wallen wrote in posts on X, “Hey y’all just wanted to clear the air. 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.”
A follow-up post added, “Thank you to the local authorities for being so professional and doing their job with class. Love y’all.”
Wallen’s alleged chair-throwing incident occurred just days after he kicked off the “One Night at a Time 2024” tour. Wallen is slated to perform in two weeks in Missouri with Bailey Zimmerman, Nate Smith and Lauren Watkins before a headlining gig in the California desert at the Stagecoach festival.
